CHARLES DICKENS 

AS I KNEW HIM 



GEORGE DOLBy 




Book J j(^ .. 



/- 



LA 




CHARLES DICKENS. 

From a photograph by Ben Giirney, taken in Neiu York, 1867, 



Frontispiece. 



CHARLES DICKENS 

AS I KNEW HIM 

THE STORY OF THE READING TOURS 

IN GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA 

(1866-1870) 



BY 

GEORGE DOLBY 

CHARLES DICKENS'S SECRETARY AND MANAGER 



WITH 14 PORTRAITS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATiONb 



NEW YORK 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
1912 



PR45'Bl 



Originally Published in 1885, 

Republished in fresent form 

with Illustrations and Full 

Index igi2. 



PREFACE TO PRESENT EDITION 






HE centenary year of the birth of Dickens, 
although an obvious reason, is not the 
only justification the publishers claim 
for issuing a popular edition of the 
present volume. 
Of the numberless books devoted to the novelist's 
life which have appeared since his death, George 
Dolby's ^' Charles Dickens as I Knew Him " stands 
apart from the rest in that it deals exclusively and fully 
with a phase of Dickens's career but lightly touched 
upon by others who had perforce to secure their 
knowledge second-hand. By virtue of the unique 
position he held in regard to the particular sphere of 
the novelist's activity to which his book is devoted, 
George Dolby was able to speak from a personal, 
intimate, and business standpoint. The result is an 
authoritative work full of facts, full of life and good 
spirits, and one which contributes much to the know- 
ledge of Dickens's many-sided character. To the 
student who follows the details of his life and travels, 
and to the topographer seeking to establish definitely 
the associations of Dickens with the towns and cities 
of Great Britain and America, the book is an indis- 
pensable record. 

George Dolby became the novelist's secretary and 
manager in 1886, and remained his personal friend and 



vi PREFACE TO PRESENT EDITION. 

business adviser, so far as his Reading Tours were 
concerned, until Dickens's death in 1870. He arranged 
all the details of the tours in Great Britain in 1866-7, 
in America in 1867-8, and again in Great Britain in 
1868-70. The narrative of this association he has 
given in the following vivid pages, and so extraordinary 
was the excitement and enthusiasm to hear the novelist 
read from his own books, the story at times seems 
almost incredible. No such furore had attended any- 
thing of the kind before, nor has it since. That men 
and women should bring out mattresses and other 
creature comforts to await through cold nights, as 
they did in America, in order to be in time to buy 
tickets next morning to hear those readings some days 
following is as remarkable as it is true. No other person 
than George Dolby, excepting Dickens himself, could 
have told the unique story of those eventful days. 

One can well understand that under such conditions 
the ventures were commercially successful. According 
to the facts revealed, Dickens netted a profit of ;^33,ooo 
under Dolby's management, whilst the novelist himself 
estimated that ;£i 2,000 resulted from his previous read- 
ings under the management of Arthur Smith. 

Valuable as are the business details of the tour as set 
out in the following pages, the intimate and anecdotal 
story interwoven in the narrative makes the book as 
vital and interesting as any written on the personal 
side of the novelist's career. 

George Dolby died in 1900. 

The text of the present edition remains as originally 
written, with the addition of a copious index and 
illustrations and portraits. 

O. S. 




AUTHOR'S PREFACE 

|Y Preface shall be a very brief one, but I 
feel that two or three introductory words 
are necessary. And in the first place 
(and chiefly I must confess with a wish to 
disarm them), I will make an apology to any and all of 
my critics who may miss in these pages the flavour and 
essence of a genuine literary work. I am far from the 
affectation of claiming for my book that it should 
rank as an artistic production. All that I have done is 
this : I have spent some months in the effort to tell, as 
simply as possible, the story of the famous Reading 
Tours of Charles Dickens ; the most brilliantly suc- 
cessful enterprises of their kind that were ever 
undertaken. Had I the pen of a ready writer, I 
could have told my story a hundred times better than 
I have done ; but such as it is, it has been a labour of 
love to me. Dickens was my great hero— my ''Chief" 
— in the pleasant bygone days when we were " on the 
road " together — by day and by night, week after week, 



viH AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 

month after month, right through the English and 
American tours ; and his memory is heroic now that 
he has gone. His death closed the brightest chapter 
of my life, and the warmth and vividness of my recol- 
lections of that period of his career in which I was 
privileged to be very close to him, are the main 
explanation and excuse I have to offer for attempting 
to tell the story with which these pages are concerned. 
May I venture, in the second place, to hope that the 
personal references in this book, which I fear are not 
a few from first to last, will not be thought to have had 
any egotistical purpose ? I stood to my ^' Chief " in 
the relation of manager, and it is in the managerial 
capacity, and in that alone, that I have introduced 
myself, in obedience to the necessities of the narrative. 
Lastly, while I have trusted for the most part to a 
good memory and a copious store of notes, I have had 
occasion here and there, when traversing ground that 
has been partially covered before, to refer to three 
well-known works, viz., Mr. Forster's " Life of Charles 
Dickens," the " Letters of Charles Dickens," and '' In 
and Out of Doors with Charles Dickens," by Mr. 
James T. Fields (Houghton and Co., Boston, Mass., 
U.S.A.), and I desire here to make a cordial acknow- 
ledgment of my indebtedness to them. 



CONTENTS 

BOOK I 

The Two English Tours {1866—1867) 



CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

MY FIRST TOUR WITH THE CHIEF . . .1 

Preliminary Arrangements — The Manager — What to do with the 
Crowd? — "Doctor Marigold" — We go down to Liverpool — 
The Two Hogarths — The Manager to the Rescue — His 
Favourite Hotel — We swear Friends — The Chief is fond of a 
Circus — The " Shilling" Tide — The Manager wins Half-crowns 
— "Why didn't he stay longer? " — Our Train takes Fire — The 
Origin of "The Boy at Mugby" — The Artful Sandwich, &c. — 
An Interrupted Hornpipe — The Chief's Birthplace — Mr. Wiils's 
Prison — The Close of the Tour. 



CHAPTER II 

A GLIMPSE OF LIFE AT " GAD's " . . .42 

The New Terms : ";^6oa Night "—An Incomparable Host— The 
Purchase of " Gad's "—A Peculiarity of the Household—" It 
was all geniality at * Gad's ' " — A Trial Reading — His Kindness 
to the Hop-pickers — The Dogs — The Execution of " Sultan " — 
The Conversion of " Bumble." 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III 

PAGE 

ON TOUR IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND . . .62 

"Barbox Brothers"-! dub him "Chief" — A Catastrophe 
saved — We find ourselves in a Scottish Gaol — Shocking Occur- 
rence in a Train — To Dublin in a Snow-storm — Dublin in a 
State of Siege — We travel with Irish Patriots — Singular Conduct 
of a Town Clerk — The Chief is always Cheerful — England or 
America? — " Let Dolby go." 



BOOK II 

The American Tour (1867—1868) 
CHAPTER IV 



Mr. Fields' Invitation — The Belgian Volunteers — Their Ruffianly 
Conduct — The Manager's Instructions — The Manager's Depar- 
ture — Halifax — Fruit and Lobsters — The Boston Pilot — "Which 
is Dolby ? " — Arrival at Boston— A Boston Dinner— The Tre- 
mont Temple — Nantucket— The Literary Shop-boy — A Floating 
Palace — First Glimpse of New York- Broadway not quite the 
thing— A good deal of Trotting — We inquire of the Oracles — 
The King of Showmen — " Willard's " — The Manager is 
"Sly, Sir." 

CHAPTER V 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE SECOND AMERICAN TOUR . I30 

The Welcome at "Gad's"— "The Case in a Nutshell"— Esti- 
mated Net Profit, ;^is,500— Mr. Forster in Opposition— The 
Oracle orders Lunch, and relents — Back to America — Two 
Tons of Yellow Paper. 

CHAPTER VI 

THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SECOND AMERICAN TOUR I45 

Subject to Pains in the Back — A Queue half a mile long — The 
Press is in danger of Starving — The Skipper restores us to Life 



CONTENTS. xi 



—It is all right with the Chief— The Pallid Curate— " These 
People have not changed " — Reunions — Bogus Tickets — Taking 
Stock of the Speculators — The Tickets go at a Premium — 
"P. H." — The First Night— An ** Aside "—They revel in 
" Pickwick" — Boston at his Feet — We modify our Plans. 

CHAPTER VII 

CHRISTMAS AND THE NEW YEAR . . . l8o 

New York — The "Westminster" — We are served with a 
Summons — A Queue of three-quarters of a mile — "Sticking" 
the Speculators— A "Boss" Speculator— "Fire ! " — Quite a 
"One-horse" Fire, though — The Skirt of the Ballet-dancer — 
Christmas in Boston — The Pudding is sent from England— 
Rather Home-sick— The Entire City takes a " B. and S. "— The 
Manager takes Poison twice — Mr. Beecher lends us his Church 
— A Fight for Tickets — Profits of the First Course, ;^io,ooo — 
iNIr. Dickens meets Mr. Beecher — Washington will do. 

CHAPTER Vni 
FURTHER AMERICAN EXPERIENCES . . . 2l8 

Chicago threatens to go into Fits — Manager and another go into 
Training — A Model American Gaol — The Baltimore Hotels — 
The Chiefs Health alarms us — There is no rest for the Manager 
— Mr. Secretary Staunton and his Memory — The Congressman 
who had Dined — Dog — An Audience of the President — The 
Chiefs Birthday— " Good-bye ! "— A Lunch at Whelcker's— A 
Matrimonial Agency — Riot at New Haven — The Gifted Mayor 
of New Haven — A Novel Sensation — " Those Horrid Specu- 
lators " — The Printer's Little Joke — A Reminder of Bow Street 
— Political Hubbub— Two Hats a Side— The great Walking 
Match — Sporting Narrative — Badly Beaten — A Dinner at 
Longfellow's — How to make a Speech — Qualification for 
Parliament. 

CHAPTER IX 

THE CLOSE OF THE AMERICAN TOUR, AND THE 

RETURN HOME ..... 276 

Syracuse— A City under Water — The Little Game of the Sheriff's 
Officer — Buftalo Ladies, please Skip — Niagara — Utica — An 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

American Deluge — Letters from Home — Getting near the End — 
Sickness and Misgivings — " The kind, fair hands unknown " — 
The Chiefs Gift to the Blind— Farewell to Boston— We return 
to New York — Our old Friends turn up again — The Manager 
beards the Collector — Another Threat of Arrest — The Press 
Dinner — Speech to the Press-men — New Impressions of America 
— Americans in England — The Last Reading in America — The 
Collector is Implacable — Mr. Commissioner Kennedy — '*Two 
Rough-looking Men " — " Good-bye, Boz ! " — Home once more 
—Total Receipts, #228,000. 



BOOK III 

The "Final Farewell" Tour in the United 
Kingdom (/ 868—/ 870) 

CHAPTER X 

EIGHT THOUSAND POUNDS FOR A HUNDRED READINGS . 333 

One Hundred more Readings — First Idea of the "Murder 
Reading — Each Man his own Luncheon -bearer — ** Plorn " — 
" Plorn " goes to Australia — In doubt about the " Murder." 

CHAPTER XI 

THE LAST TOUR IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND . . 347 

"The Old Curiosity Shop" — Opinions on the "Murder" — 
Thirty Thousand Nerve Shocks — Scottish Cordiality — A 
Christmas Turkey — Prematurely cooked — ' ' Sikes and Nancy " 
— To Ireland — Alarm of Fire — A Railway Scare. 

CHAPTER XII 

THE BEGINNING OF THE END .... 369 

What Macready said — Smith — The Manager entertains the Chief 
— ^Torquay — His Son's Promotion — Our first Break-down — The 
Chief Mends— Edinburgh Thrilled— Three " Murders" a Week 



CONTENTS. xiii 

PAGE 

— London again — Hull — A Rapid Departure — The Undertaker's 
Man — The Liverpool Banquet — Notable Speakers — Sleepless 
Nights — In Consultation — Blackpool — A Medical Examination 
— A Big Disappointment — Safe through it — Decision of the 
Doctors. 

CHAPTER XIII 

AMERICAN VISITORS AT '* GAD'S " — THE LAST READINGS 

AND FAREWELL TO THE PUBLIC . . 415 

Australia — Nocturnal Expeditions — Gad's Hill in June — Canter- 
bury Pilgrims — An al fresco Luncheon — Canterbury — A Dance 
at «* Gad's "—A Brilliant Match— The Chief's Grog— The 
Largest Sum ever paid — Education for the People - Chair — The 
Last Christmas Day — Fresh Danger — The Crowning Triumph — 
A Splendid Reception — Farewell Speech — Net Profits. 

CPIAPTER XIV 

HYDE PARK PLACE — THE CHIEF'S LAST DAYS IN TOWN. 452 

Mr. Arthur Helps — An Audience of Her Majesty— The Queen's 
Gift— That Cocked Hat— A Bright Concert— Gad's Hill once 
more. 

CHAPTER XV 
THE END ....... 464 

INDEX ....... 467 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



CHARLES DICKENS ..... Frontisftece 

From a photograph by Ben Gurncy taken in New York, 1867. 

FACING PAGE 
W. H. WILLS . . ...... 32 

From a photograph by Cundall, Downes & Co. 

CHARLES DICKENS GIVING A READING , • • . 80 

From a contemporary print. 

JAMES R. OSGOOD ..,,,.. 112 

THE RUSH FOR TICKETS FOR THE DICKENS READINGS IN NEW YORK . I68 

From a contemporary print. 

PLYMOUTH CHURCH, BROOKLYN ..... 208 

Lent by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher for the Dickens Readings. 

PARKER HOUSE, BOSTON ...... 264 

Tlie scene of the dinner after " The Great International Walking Match." 

JAMES T. FIELDS AND MRS. JAMES T. FIELDS . . . 304 

CHARLES DICKENS AND GEORGE DOLBY . . . .328 

A caricature from an American paper on the eve of their departure for 
England. 

CHARLES DICKENS'S READING OF " SIKES AND NANCY " . . 352 

Two studies from a contemporary magazine. 

BANQUET TO DICKENS IN ST. GEORGE'S HALL, LIVERPOOL, 

APRIL 10, 1869 : CHARLES DICKENS SPEAKING . . . 4OO 

From a contemporary print. 

ST, JAMES'S HALL, LONDON, WHERE DICKENS GAVE HIS 

FAREWELL READING . . . . . .448 



BOOK I. 

The Two English 7'ours 
(1866-1867). 

CHAPTER I. 

MY FIRST TOUR WITH THE CHIEF. 

|ARLY in the year 1866, Messrs. Chappell, 
of New Bond Street, London, learned that 
Mr. Dickens had determined to resume 
his Public Readings — which had been 
relinquished four years previously, owing to the death 
of his old and valued friend and manager, Mr. Arthur 
Smith (brother of Albert Smith of Mont Blanc cele- 
brity) ; and that, could any arrangement be effected 
whereby he might be relieved of all business cares in 
connection with the Readings, Mr. Dickens was dis- 
posed to negotiate v/ith the firm for a series of about 
thirty Readings, to be given in London, the provinces, 
and, if necessary, in Paris. Messrs. Chappell had no 
doubt of the success of such an enterprise. Mr. 
Dickens's popularity was undimmed. The previous 
Readings had been brilliantly successful ; and when 




2 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Messrs. Chappell proposed that I should accompany the 
Reader as their representative and manager through- 
out the tour, it was without the slightest hesitation 
that I advised them to accept any terms Mr. Dickens 
might impose. 

The result of the negotiations was, that Mr. Dickens 
agreed to give thirty Readings in London, the provinces, 
or elsewhere, in consideration of the firm paying him 
the sum of ;f 1500 for the course, or ^50 a Reading ; 
they undertaking all responsibility and trouble, and 
paying all expenses, personal and otherwise, in con- 
nection with the tour ; thus liberating the reader from 
all anxiety, and leaving his mind free and untram- 
melled for the work he had before him — that is to say, 
as free as ever he allowed it to be, for, although all 
responsibility of the tour was removed from his shoul- 
ders, he had still the editing of " All the Year Round," 
and other literary duties ; and he was always anxious 
to make sure that the results of his agreement with 
Messrs. Chappell were such that they could not in any 
way regret their acceptance of his terms. 

The sum stipulated for — viz., £1500 — was to be paid 
as follows: 3^500 on the first Reading, ^fsoo on the 
fifteenth, and ;f 500 on the termination of the agreement. 
That Messrs. Chappell had met Mr. Dickens in a 
liberal manner, and that he perfectly understood the 
nature of his agreement, the great author's own words, 
written in a letter to a friend, will testify : 



PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS. 3 

" As to the Readings, all I have to do is to take in 
my book and read at the appointed place and hour, 
and come out again. All the business of every kind is 
done by Chappells. They take John and my other 
man merely for my convenience. I have no more to 
do with any detail whatever, than you have. They 
transact the business at their own cost, and on their 
own responsibility. I think they are disposed to do it 
in a very good spirit, because, whereas the original pro- 
position was for thirty Readings * in England, Ireland, 
Scotland, or Paris,' they wrote out their agreement in 
London, the provinces, or elsewhere, as you and we 
may agree.'" 

That Messrs. Chappell had no reason to rue their 
bargain was shown by the fact that on the com- 
pletion of the tour the gross receipts amounted to 
nearly ^^5000, an average of £1^0 a Reading. Such a 
success had never been known in any similar enter- 
prise ; and it was all the more gratifying as Mr. 
Dickens had, with that consideration for the masses 
which ever characterized his actions, stipulated, at the 
commencement of the engagement, that shilling seat- 
holders should have as good accommodation as those 
who were willing to pay higher sums for their evening's 
enjoyment ; *' for," said he, ** I have been the cham- 
pion and friend of the working man all through my 
career, and it would be inconsistent, if not unjust, to put 
any difficulty in the way of his attending my Readings." 



4 CHARLES DICKENS. 

The scheme comprised eight Readings in London 
(at St. James's Hall), and twenty-two in the provinces; 
at Liverpool five, three each at Edinburgh, Manchester, 
and Glasgow, with Readings at Birmingham, Aber- 
deen, Portsmouth, Clifton, &c., to complete the number. 
This plan was laid before Mr. Dickens in the early part 
of March, the public having become so impatient when 
once the cry of ** Dickens is coming " was raised, that 
it was found necessary to hasten matters as much as 
possible, and issue a definite programme ; but this, of 
course, could not be done until Mr. Dickens had signi- 
fied his entire satisfaction with the arrangements. 

So there was an interview at the office of " All the 
Year Round " which I shall always look back upon 
with pleasure. Though I had known Mr. Dickens for 
some time previously, this was the first occasion on 
which I came into contact with him in a business 
matter ; and there was naturally a feeling of constraint 
which might have made our first interview tedious 
but for that geniality, that antidote to reserve, which 
formed one of his chief characteristics. He expressed 
himself thoroughly satisfied with all the plans, and 
told me that Mr. W. H. Wills, his friend and partner 
in ** All the Year Round," would travel with him, not 
only for companionship, but to enable him the more 
easily to conduct the magazine during his absence from 
the metropolis. When I took leave of him, he shook 
me heartily by the hand, and with that deep earnest 



THE MANAGER. 5 

look in his eyes which I have so often seen, said, " I 
hope we shall like each other on the termination of the 
tour as much as we seem to do now." 

Next day Mr. Dickens wrote to Messrs. Chappell 
that ** he hoped Mr. Dolby was a man of resources, 
otherwise he would find considerable pressure put upon 
him, and the same difficulties would present them- 
selves as had caused the abandonment of the Readings 
for three years." It may be as well to explain here 
the matter to which this letter referred, and of what 
those difficulties consisted. At the commencement of 
one of his earlier Reading tours, in October, 1861, Mr. 
Dickens had the misfortune to lose his much-cherished 
and valued friend, Mr. Arthur Smith, a most astute 
business manager. Before his death Mr. Smith had 
expressed a wish that the gentleman who had acted as 
his subordinate and assistant might, in consideration of 
his knowledge of the business, be retained to carry out 
the arrangements for the tour then commencing. Mr. 
Dickens, out of respect for his dying friend, readily re- 
sponded to this wish, though it is but too apparent, from 
a letter written immediately after Mr. Arthur Smith's 
death, that his faith in his late manager's colleague 
was none of the strongest. *' My Readings," he wrote, 
" are a sad subject to me now, for I am going away on 
the 28th, to read fifty times, and I have lost Arthur 
Smith — a friend whom I can never replace— who 
always went with me and transacted, as no other man 



6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

ever can, all the business connected with them, and 
without whom I fear they will be dreary and weary to 
me." Mr. Dickens's forebodings were only too fully 
realized, for the new manager, though he had proved 
himself an admirable adjutant, was entirely unfitted for 
his new duties. Quite unwittingly, he caused great 
trouble and anxiety to Mr. Dickens, especially as the 
blame for his shortcomings was laid by the dissatisfied 
public, not on the manager's, but the reader's shoulders. 
Thus, in Edinburgh, where two Readings were given, 
tickets, sufficient to fill the place, had been sold before 
the commencement of each Reading; but, as Edin- 
burgh audiences are shy of ** first nights," and the 
tickets were not dated, many seatholders who should 
have attended the Reading on the first night, held 
aloof until the second, swelling the crowd on that night 
to an alarming extent. It was at such a time that the 
new manager was at a loss, and a scene of indescribable 
confusion always followed. Hundreds poured into a 
hall already crowded to suffocation, amid rent gar 
ments, expostulations, threats, cries for '* the manager,' 
and '* Where is Mr. Dickens ? " It was a surging 
roaring sea that overflowed everything, even the plat 
form on which Mr. Dickens was to read. The atten 
dants and men at the doors suffered much — to use Mr 
Dickens's own words in telling the tale : " They were 
all torn to ribbons ; they had not a hat and scarcely a 
coat amongst them," Indeed, so futile were the efforts 



WHAT TO DO WITH THE CROWD? 7 

of the attendants to control or in any way to stem the 
tide, that Mr. Dickens found it necessary to come 
forward and address those who were already in the 
hall, while an intimate friend, from a prominent posi- 
tion, endeavoured to instil reason into those who were 
outside. It was the recurrence of such scenes, en- 
tailing much worry and anxiety, and no inconsiderable 
expenditure of physical strength and energy, which 
often at the commencement of a Reading left Mr. 
Dickens almost in a state of collapse, and eventually 
forced him to discontinue his Readings until he could 
find a manager who would not expose him to the risk 
of such disasters. 

Here I had better explain that the record of the first 
*' Dickens Readings " of which I had undertaken the 
management must necessarily relate more to business 
detail than to my intercourse with Mr. Dickens, as at 
the outset I was brought but very little into his society, 
owing to the great stress put upon me at first by the 
difficulties which had overwhelmed poor Arthur Smith's 
colleague. Still, these details may be interesting to 
many, and they are entirely essential to the purpose of 
this work. 

No time was lost in arranging the opening Reading, 
which was given in St. James's Hall, London, on 
Tuesday evening, April 10, 1866. Independently of the 
interest created by the reappearance of Mr. Dickens on 
the platform as a public reader, there was much excite- 



8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

ment when it became generally known that he had de- 
cided upon reading " Doctor Marigold" for the first time 
on this occasion. This Reading, like all the others, had 
been most carefully prepared ; and, in order to test its 
suitability for its purpose, a private rehearsal was given 
on March i8th, at Southwick Place, Hyde Park, in a 
furnished house which Mr. Dickens had taken for the 
season. This audience consisted of the members of his 
family, and Mr. Robert Browning, Mr. Wilkie Collins, 
Mr. Charles Fechter, Mr. John Forster, Mr. Arthur 
Chappell, Mr. Charles Kent, and myself. It is hardly 
necessary to say that the verdict was unanimously 
favourable. Everybody was astonished by the extra- 
ordinary ease and fluency with which the patter of the 
** Cheap Jack " was delivered, and the subtlety of the 
humour which pervaded the whole presentation. To 
those present, the surprise was no less great than the 
results were pleasing ; indeed, it is hard to see how it 
could well have been otherwise, for seldom, and but too 
seldom in the world's history, do we find a man gifted 
with such extraordinary powers, and, at the same time, 
possessed of such a love of method, such will, such 
energy, and such a capacity for taking pains. An 
example of this is the interesting fact that, although to 
many of his hearers at that eventful rehearsal of " Doctor 
Marigold " it was the first time it had been read, 
Mr. Dickens had, since its appearance as a Christmas 
number, only three months previously, adapted it as a 



"DOCTOR MARIGOLD." 9 

Reading, and had rehearsed it to himself considerably 
over two hundred times — and this in addition to his 
ordinary work. 

Great as was the success of '* Doctor Marigold's Pre- 
scriptions " as a Christmas number — the sale of which 
exceeded 250,000 copies in the first week-—** Doctor 
Marigold," as a reading, more than realized the antici- 
pations of even the most sanguine of Mr. Dickens's 
friends, whilst the public, and those who in various 
ways were more immediately interested in the Readings, 
were convinced that up to that time they had had but 
a very faint conception of Mr. Dickens's powers either 
as an adapter or an elocutionist. 

Mr. Wills having been retained as " travelling com- 
panion," I was, on the occasion of the first London 
Reading of this series, brought but very little into 
contact with Mr. Dickens; indeed, beyond informing 
him at the appointed time that the audience were 
seated, and, in their eagerness to hear him, and as a 
mark of the esteem in which they held him, had 
honoured the request which had been preferred in all 
announcement bills and tickets, and in all advertise- 
ments, that, as "the Reading would be comprised 
within two hours, the public were respectfully requested 
to be seated ten minutes before the commencement of 
the Reading," I took no active part, and indeed had 
little or nothing to do, in the management of the 
"platform." 



lo CHARLES DICKENS. 

" Doctor Marigold " was followed by ^' Mr. Bob Saw- 
yer's Party," which was read to an accompaniment of 
uproarious laughter and applause. The whole entertain- 
ment was a most gratifying success, the receipts 
amounting to nearly ^^300. So much was Mr. Dickens 
beloved and admired, so strongly had he taken pos- 
session of the hearts of the English people, that the 
astonishment of his audience at his skilful manipulation, 
if I may use the expression, of " Doctor Marigold," and 
their appreciation of his rendering of the character, 
found vent in rounds of applause and shouts of delight, 
Mr. Dickens being called over and over again to the 
platform to receive their vociferous congratulations. 

Next day, Messrs. Chappell's establishment in New 
Bond Street, and the various ticket agents' offices in 
the City, were besieged by crowds of people, anxious to 
secure seats for future Readings, thus assuring, so far 
as London was concerned, the success of the enterprise, 
not only artistically as affecting Mr. Dickens, but 
financially as affecting Messrs. Chappell. 

In the same week, our plans included three Readings 
at Liverpool — on Wednesday the nth April, Friday 
the 13th, and the afternoon of Saturday the 14th — and 
one Reading at Manchester on the 12th. The journey 
to Liverpool, therefore, had to be made on the morning 
following the London Reading, and I was invited to 
travel in the same compartment with Mr. Dickens and 
his companion. I cannot at this distance of time, and 



WE GO DOWN TO LIVERPOOL. ii 

in affectionate remembrance of our after intimacy, look 
back upon that first journey, without experiencing a 
certain feeling of amusement at the recollection of the 
furtive manner in which we took stock of one another. 
First we digested the news in the daily papers, an 
operation never of great length with any one of the 
three who formed our little party ; more stocktaking 
and a cigar brought us to the time when we were due 
at Bletchley (forty miles' run from London). During 
this interim Mr. Dickens had worn an expression of 
anxiety and nervousness, which, after we had left 
Bletchley behind us, he explained was attributable to 
his reminiscences of the fearful railway accident in the 
previous year (1865) at Staplehurst, in which he had 
figured so prominently, and from which he had so 
providentially and miraculously escaped. He never, 
he explained, had travelled since that memorable day 
(the gth of June) without experiencing a nervous 
dread, to counteract which in some degree he carried 
in his travelling bag a brandy flask, from which it was 
his invariable habit, one hour after leaving his starting- 
point, when travelling by express train, to take a 
draught to nerve himself against any ordeal he might 
have to go through during the rest of the journey. 

Bletchley, then, having been passed, the flask was 
brought into requisition ; and, cheered by further cigars, 
we gave up the unpleasant system of merely " eyeing " 
one another, and fell freely into conversation on 



12 CHARLES DICKENS. 

matters connected with the ulterior object of our 
journeyings. 

Mr. Wills, " the companion," was, however, doubtful 
as to the resources I had at command in the event 
of any unforeseen and sudden pressure being put upon 
us, also as to the convenience of our routes. With 
Mr. Dickens it was different : he had known me, and 
my reputation as a manager, for some years ; and Mr. 
Wills's volley of questions — and I must certainly 
confess he would have made a very good cross-examin- 
ing counsel — evidently had the effect of making Mr. 
Dickens somewhat uncomfortable and ill at ease. But 
he restored his serenity by launching out into anec- 
dotes, only one of which I shall reproduce here. The 
late Catherine Hayes's mother did not possess any 
talent in a remarkable degree, except perhaps that of 
committing astonishing blunders. Charles Dickens, 
whom she used to dub Carlo Dickens (for the old lady 
had been to Italy, and deemed perhaps that it was her 
duty, as the mother of a singer, to drag into her con- 
versation Italian names, which she spoke with a broad 
Irish accent) was somewhat of a favourite with her. 
One day she was at his house with her daughter, and 
expressed the great pleasure it gave her to be the guest 
of the " celebrated Carlo Dickens." Seeking to add 
compliment to compliment if possible, she turned to 
some paintings and drawings, by Stanfield, Millais, and 
Frith, which hung on the walls, and, after being loud 



THE TWO HOGARTHS. 13 

in their praises, complimented Mr. Dickens on **the 
wonderful talent which his father-in-law possessed for 
making such beautiful pictures." Mr. Dickens's father- 
in-law was Mr. George Hogarth. 

After this entertainment we had the opportunity of 
regaling ourselves with sandwiches (and such sand- 
wiches they were in those days!— two layers of com- 
pressed boxwood sawdust, with a layer of shoe leather 
in between them, would have been equally delectable) 
and a glass of sherry. Then I had another turn with 
Mr. Wills, in his role of " cross-examining counsel " 
(perhaps the boxwood sawdust and leather had caused 
slight indigestion). Another cigar whiled away the 
remaining time till we were at our journey's end, where 
we parted, to meet again at the small concert room 
in St. George's Hall within an hour to arrange the 
proper fitting of ''the screen," battens, &c. — a task Mr. 
Dickens always superintended personally. 

As I believe it has not previously appeared in any 
work, either in this country or in America, I will give 
a description of the appurtenances of the platform. At 
the back was a large screen consisting of a series of 
woodwork frames covered with canvas ; this again was 
covered with a maroon-coloured cloth, tightly stretched. 
In the centre of the stage or platform was the table, 
on which was a slightly raised reading-desk. On the 
left hand of the reader, on either side of the table, were 
small projecting ledges — the one on the right for the 



14 CHARLES DICKENS. 

water-bottle and glass, the other for his pocket-hand- 
kerchief and gloves. Further forward, and on each 
side of the stage, ran two uprights ; these were gas 
barrels, secured with copper wire " guys," securing 
the batten and reflector, and communicating above an 
below with another range of lights with reflectors, so 
that the reader's face and figure were fully and equally 
distinct to the vision of the audience, and no effects 
were marred either by too much light overhead or by 
a super-effulgence from below. 

Inquiries at the local ticket offices elicited the fact 
that enthusiasm had reached the highest pitch with 
regard to Mr. Dickens's reappearance, and that the 
tickets were all disposed of except ''the shillings," an 
indication that there would be a tremendous *' rush " 
when the doors were opened. Long before the time 
for opening arrived the crowd outside was so enormous 
that a large staff of police was unequal to the occasion, 
and the entrance to the hall (a large circular vestibule 
with staircases and galleries, and capable of holding 
some 3000 or 4000 people) was soon filled. The 
staircases leading to the hall were carefully guarded, 
and those with tickets passed in comfortably, leaving 
those who were anxious to purchase no alternative but 
to get into the '* scrimmage " at the pay-box. Perfect 
in itself as is the smaller room at St. George's Hall, 
Liverpool, which Mr, Dickens always spoke of, and 
with justice, as the most ''perfect hall in the world," it 



THE MANAGER TO THE RESCUE. 15 

is to be regretted that the convenience and safety of the 
public did not suggest the provision of suitable barriers 
and "pay-boxes" at the entrances, such as are enforced 
in the case of theatres and halls built by private enter- 
prise. On the occasion of which I am writing the 
scene was one of the most exciting description, and the 
" man of resources " had a very bad quarter of an hour. 
But a good staff of officials and police, and a great deal 
of good temper on the part of the crowd, soon put 
matters right; and, although it looked at one time as 
if those who had tickets could not get in, and those 
who had not tickets could not get out, we managed 
eventually to clear the way. 

Now that the brunt of the battle was over, Mr. Wills 
suddenly appeared, and, without making any allowance 
for the confusion which the want of proper barriers at 
the entrances had caused, and without satisfying him- 
self whether the audience were seated or not, induced 
Mr. Dickens to go on to the platform punctually at 
eight o'clock, a course which necessitated his standing 
book in hand for some minutes before he could com- 
mence reading — a contretemps so distasteful to Mr. 
Dickens, as to elicit from him the expression of his 
determination " never again to go on the platform until 
Dolby puts me there," to which resolve he rigidly ad- 
hered. Great as was the success of "Doctor Marigold" 
in London, it was nothing in comparison with the furore 
it created at Liverpool ; the pleasure experienced from 



i6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

an artistic point of view being greatly enhanced, to the 
managerial mind, by a receipt of nearly :f240, and, 
according to pohce calculation, a ** turn-away " of over 
3000 people, who, as every manager is aware, would 
freely advertise the two remaining Readings, which 
were announced to take place on the following Friday 
evening and Saturday morning (the 13th and 14th April). 
It will not be surprising to any one who is conver- 
sant with Manchester to learn that the reception there 
was but a repetition of the London and Liverpool 
successes. Inquiries showed, on my arrival, that over 
eight hundred stalls were booked, and a proportionate 
number of second-seat tickets bought for the reading 
advertised to take place that evening — Thursday, April 
12, 1866; — a circumstance which gave Mr. Dickens 
great satisfaction on his arrival later in the day. 
There was a prospect of another " rush," such as that 
at Liverpool, and it was realized, but with this differ- 
ence, that at " the Free Trade Hall," Manchester, the 
" appliances " and conveniences for the safety and 
comfort of the public and management were as perfect 
in that building as they were imperfect in the St. 
George's Hall, Liverpool. So spontaneous was the 
enthusiasm of the Manchester audience that, accus- 
tomed as Mr. Dickens was to the most genial, hearty, 
and vociferous greetings, this affected him deeply : 
indeed, he was always so susceptible to a popular 
tribute of this kind, that it took him some moments to 



HIS FAVOURITE HOTEL. 17 

recover himself sufficiently either to commence or con- 
tinue the reading. Every word he uttered, and every 
look and gesture, always told with wonderful effect in 
that gigantic hall. So deeply were the Manchester 
people impressed that, when it became known that 
Mr. Dickens would return to Manchester that day 
fortnight (the 26th April), Messrs. Forsyth's estab- 
lishment in that city was besieged all the next and 
following days by people anxious to secure tickets for 
the second reading. 

After the Reading on the 12th, we returned the same 
night to Liverpool, as amongst the hotels in the large 
towns in England none was such a favourite with 
Mr. Dickens as the " Adelphi " at Liverpool — then 
kept by the late Mr. James Radley (son of a worthy 
sire, also dead), the man who by geniality and good 
management obtained for the hotel a popularity which, 
despite the fact (a most unusual circumstance as 
regards hotels) that it is managed under the provisions 
of the Joint Stock Act, it still retains. Railway ac- 
commodation, too, being so good between the two 
towns, it is not to be wondered at that Mr. Dickens 
should prefer to return to this his favourite hotel, and, 
except London, his favourite city — or perhaps as it 
was not a "city" then, I had better say ** urban retreat" 
— rather than spend the night in the gloomy atmo- 
sphere of Manchester. 

When we arrived in Liverpool from Manchester, an 



lb CHARLES DICKENS. 

excellent supper awaited us — a pleasant finish to a day 
of hard work and excitement. Mr. Dickens brewed a 
bowl of punch, an accomplishment in which he stood 
pre-eminent, as in all matters to which he put his hand. 
And here, as in all probability the recurring mention 
of such luxuries as these may lead to misapprehension 
as to Mr. Dickens's character as an epicure, I must 
take the opportunity of stating that, although he so 
frequently both wrote and talked about eating and 
drinking, I have seldom met with a man who partook 
less freely of the kindly fare placed before him. In 
this observation I am not singular, as the following 
quotation from a letter written by a common friend, 
Mr. James T. Fields, of Boston (U.S.), will testify : 
" He liked to dilate in imagination over the brewing 
of a bowl of punch, but I always noticed that when 
the punch was ready he drank less of it than any one 
who might be present. It was the sentiment of the 
thing, and not the thing itself, that engaged his atten- 
tion." To the consideration of those who, from want 
of appreciation of a good man's heart, deprecate the 
frequent allusions in his writings to the good things of 
this life, I would seriously and earnestly commend this 
quotation. 

I look back with peculiar pleasure to that supper 
at Liverpool, because it was there that Mr. Wills 
showed that he no longer thought it necessary to play 
the barrister. From that time until the day of his 



WE SWEAR FRIENDS. 19 

death, I am proud to say that I was honoured with 
Mr. Wills's confidence and friendship. 

The entente cordiale having been established, Mr. 
Dickens suggested that, as we were all staying at the 
same hotel, I should share their sitting-room; for, said 
he, ** It's all nonsense Wills and myself living alone 
together, with you in the same hotel ; let us in future 
travel together, and make our sitting-room yours, and 
have you living entirely with us " — a suggestion which 
was subsequently acted upon ; and from that day we 
lived together on terms of affectionate companionship 
and intimacy. 

The Readings announced for the two days following 
the Manchester Reading were " David Copperfield " 
and the " Trial from Pickwick '' on Friday, April 13th, 
and on Saturday ''morning," the 14th April, the 
" Story of Little Dombey," both at St. George's Hall, 
Liverpool, in the small concert room. It is well 
known with what care and elaboration Mr. Dickens 
prepared his books, and the same system was 
carried out in the preparation of his Readings. He 
had a singular habit, too, of regarding his own books 
as the productions of some one else, and would almost 
refer to them as such. Chief among his favourites 
was "David Copperfield," so that it is not a matter 
of surprise that, when he presented it to the public 
as a Reading, he should throw into it all the colour, 
light, and shade, of which his artistic nature was 



20 CHARLES DICKENS. 

capable, until the word-painting made such a picture 
as has never been surpassed. That wonderful com- 
bination of pathos and whimsicality was received with 
visible expressions of rapt interest on the part of the 
audience, until the termination of the Reading with 
the wreck and drowning of Steerforth, when he was 
greeted with a burst of applause almost as wild and 
boisterous as the gale of wind which the reader had, 
but a moment before, described. The " Trial from 
Pickwick," which closed that evening's Readings, was, 
it is hardly necessary to say, received with laughter of 
the most magnetic and contagious kind. 

The '* Story of Little Dombey," from *' Dombey 
and Son," given the following afternoon (Saturday, 
the 14th April), was always a painful one to Mr. 
Dickens, and never read by him except by particular 
request and under the greatest of pressure. His 
intuitive identification of himself with his audience 
was the cause, in this particular instance, of the most 
acute suffering; and it was with the greatest relief 
that he drew his hearers from the thraldom of melan- 
choly, in which they were bound in the earlier part of 
the Reading, by introducing Mr. Toots and his boyish 
absurdities. But there was the inevitable relapse into 
the solemnity of the death of ** little Paul ; " a shadow 
of sorrow which would be visible on the brow of the 
reader for some considerable time after the recital, 
especially when, as on the present occasion, there 



THE CHIEF IS FOND OF A CIRCUS. 



21 



was no after-piece of a character more genial and 
humorous, and so more in keeping with his nature. 
A complete and triumphant success was the result of 
the two days' Readings. There were the same crushing 
and jostling, the same discomfort, and the same dis- 
order, consequent upon the defective arrangements 
previously alluded to ; but there were also the same 
good temper, the same hearty congratulations, the 
same furorcy and the same inquiries as to his return. 

The Reading of the 14th of April having been given 
in the afternoon, we had thus an evening to ourselves, 
and a consultation was held as to the best means of 
whiling away the hour. Mr. Dickens's tastes being 
inclined to theatre or circus, we repaired to the circus; 
for, appreciative as he was of the actor's art, he had an 
immense admiration for the equestrian, and never failed 
to visit a circus whenever the chance presented itself. 
The admiration he felt and the pleasure he derived 
from witnessing legitimate feats of horsemanship were, 
however, frequently marred by the indiscretions of the 
clown, who, as soon as it became known that Mr. 
Dickens was amongst the audience, would improvise 
some stupidly contrived pun having reference to his 
name or books, or would perpetrate an atrocity in the 
shape of a conundrum, such as, *' Thuppose you was 
to see a 'ouse a-fire, what three authors would you be 
likely to mention ? Give it up ? Oh! well, you would 
say, * Dickens Howitt Burns!' " at which the audience 



22 CHARLES DICKENS. 

would stamp and roar in an ecstasy of delight. On 
such occasions it was amusing to watch Mr. Dickens's 
face. Immediately he became aware of what the 
mountebank in the ring purposed, he would assume 
an air and expression of the utmost indifference and 
ennui; and his inattention and apparent deafness to 
the applause with which his name was greeted were 
usually a reproof that the clown and public invariably 
accepted, and he would be left to the enjoyment of the 
remainder of the entertainment, secure from further 
annoyance. 

On the following Monday, the i6th April, we 
journeyed northwards as far as Glasgow and Edin- 
burgh, repeating, with the addition of the " Christmas 
Carol," the Readings already given during the previous 
week. This, the first long journey after the disap- 
pearance of that shadow of reserve which had fallen 
on us at the beginning, was far too short. Owing to 
the courtesy of the officials of the London and North 
Western Railway Company, I had been fortunate 
enough to secure a saloon carriage, and a luncheon 
(to be partaken of en route) ; and here, for the first 
time, I had the opportunity of judging of the wonderful 
amount of energy Mr. Dickens could exercise in 
endeavouring to mark his appreciation of any extra 
attention shown to him. Describing the journey, Mr. 
Dickens wrote to a friend on the 17th of April, from 
Glasgow, " Dolby provided the lunch, with the * best of 



THE "SHILLING" TIDE. 23 

drinks,* and we dined in the carriage. I made him 
laugh all the way." 

The usual calls having been made at the ofBces of the 
ticket agents, the day after the arrival in Glasgow, the 
same prospects of success as in Liverpool and Man- 
chester presented themselves; and when the time came 
for opening the doors, the inevitable " shilling '* rush 
was apparent. Mr. Wills, having had sufficient ex- 
perience in the shilling market, begged to be excused 
from assisting in that department on this particular 
occasion, alleging as his reason that he was anxious 
to see the effect of an English *' Cheap Jack *' (" Doctor 
Marigold ") on a Glasgow audience ; and, " leaving me 
in my glory," he went in for the ** genteel," as Mr. 
Dickens described it in the letter above quoted. 
" Wills is to do the * genteel ' to-night in the * stalls,' 
and Dolby is to stem the shilling tide, if he can,*' 

What was the effect of " Doctor Marigold " on the 
Glasgow audience is best described in a letter written 
by Mr. Dickens, from Edinburgh, on the i8th of April. 
" We had a tremendous house again last night at Glas- 
gow and turned away great numbers; not only that,' but 
they were a most brilliant and delicate audience, and 
took * Marigold ' with a fine sense of quickness not 
to be surpassed. The shillings pitched into Dolby 
again, and one man writes a sensible letter, in one of 
the papers this morning, showing to my satisfaction (?) 
that they really had through the local agent some cause 



24 CHARLES DICKENS. 

of complaint. Nevertheless, the shilling tickets are 
sold for to-morrow, and it seems out of the question 
to take any money at the doors, the call for all parts 
is enormous." 

The ** cause of complaint" referred to arose from 
the fact that the local agent, yielding to the pressure 
put upon him, had disobeyed his instructions and sold 
shilling tickets in advance, thereby causing great dis- 
satisfaction amongst those who had been standing in 
the streets for hours before the doors were opened. 

The first Reading in Edinburgh was most successful 
from an artistic point of view, but the rush was not 
so boisterous and determined as in the other places. 
It is a curious fact, which is always presenting itself 
to the managerial mind with regard to Edinburgh, 
that the first performance of any kind in that city is 
always, financially, attended with results the least 
satisfactory. This was always the case with Mr. 
Dickens's early Readings under the management of 
Arthur Smith, and the same thing occurred during 
my own period of management ; a circumstance, how- 
ever, which never caused us the least anxiety, for 
ultimate results always proved of a most satisfactory 
character. Mr. Dickens was also aware of this singu- 
larity of the Edinbro' people, and slightly refers to 
the fact in a letter, which he wrote on the igth of the 
month : " The house was more than twice better than 
any first night here previously. They were as usual 



THE MANAGER WINS HALF-CROWNS. 25 

remarkably intelligent and the Reading went brilliantly. 
Dolby gone to Glasgow for to-night's Reading by an 
early train. Wills and I follow at half-past eleven. 
We have laid half-crown bets with Dolby that he will 
be assaulted to-night at Glasgow. He has a surprising 
knowledge of what the receipts will be always, and 
wins half-crowns every night.'* 

These innocent bets arose from the fact that Mr. 
Dickens (in the modesty of his nature in all matters 
appertaining to himself) never appreciated to the fullest 
extent his ability to attract large audiences, although 
he felt certain, in the main, of reaching a high standard 
of success. I always treated him with confidence as 
to the statistical results of each Reading; he was 
always surprised at the figures, and nothing gave him 
greater pleasure than to learn that a great financial 
success had been achieved, and that results were 
satisfactory, indeed more than satisfactory, and far 
in excess of anything ever anticipated by Messrs. 
Chappell. 

On my arrival in Glasgow on the morning following 
the Edinburgh Reading, I found that every ticket was 
sold for all the available parts of the city hall, even 
to the shilling places ; and that the agents, in the hope 
of saving the public from visiting the hall on a fruitless 
errand, and desiring to avoid a recurrence of those 
expressions of discontent which had been lavishly 
bestowed upon them on a former occasion, had, with 



26 CHARLES DICKENS. 

a caution characteristic of their nationality, issued 
bills and advertisements to the effect that " no money 
would be taken at the doors." Notwithstanding the 
notice, however, large crowds collected, to be again 
disappointed. 

The Readings on this occasion were the " Christmas 
Carol " and the *' Trial from Pickwick." The former, 
next to ** David Copperfield," was the most popular 
with the author. He had learnt it so well, and read 
it so often, that he couldn't remember it, and used (as he 
said) "to go dodging about in the wildest manner to 
pick up lost pieces." This only occurred, however, 
when he had a thoroughly sympathetic audience, with 
which he could so identify himself as to be powerless 
to do other than laugh when they laughed, and cry 
when they cried. The scenes in which appeared 
*' Tiny Tim " (a special favourite with him) affected 
him and his audience alike, and it not unfrequently 
happened that he was interrupted by loud sobs from 
the female portion of his audience (and occasionally, 
too, from men) who, perhaps, had experienced the 
inexpressible grief of losing a child. So artistically 
was this reading arranged, and so rapid was the transi- 
tion from grave to gay, that his hearers had scarcely 
time to dry their eyes after weeping before they were 
enjoying the fun of Scrooge's discovery of Christmas 
Day, and his conversation from his window with the 
boy in the court below. 



•*WHY DIDN'T HE STAY LONGER?" 27 

All these points told with wonderful effect, the 
irresistible manner of the reader enhancing a thousand 
times the subtle magic with which the carol is written. 

Returning to Edinburgh the following day for the 
last Reading of the Scotch series, we found the usual 
state of affairs — every ticket was sold before the time 
for opening the doors. ** Why was Mr. Dickens' stay 
in the city so short ? " grumbled the disappointed 
ones ; because, with true Edinbro' idiosyncrasy, they 
had thrown away their chances of hearing Mr. Dickens 
on the previous Wednesday, the i8th, and now wished 
to crowd some three thousand persons into a hall that 
would only hold half the number, or very little more ; 
and as they were not allowed to try the experiment of 
putting two people instead of one into each seat, they 
were thoroughly dissatisfied with everybody, except 
those to whom the disappointment was really attri- 
butable, i.e.y themselves. 

A pleasant journey to London — in a saloon carriage, 
wherein was provided an excellent luncheon and most 
excellent company — was made next day; and thus 
terminated nearly a-third of tne original scheme, with 
a most satisfactory profit ; the receipts amounting to 
more than sufficient to pay Mr. Dickens the sum he 
stipulated for, viz., ;fi5oo, and all other expenses 
which had so far been incurred ; thus leaving Messrs. 
Chappell and Co. the proceeds of the remainder of the 
tour (twenty-one Readings), which, after the incidental 



28 CHARLES DICKENS. 

expenses, hotel, travelling, local and otherwise, had 
been deducted, would be net profit. Part of the 
original scheme was to give ** David Copperfield " for 
the second London Reading at St. James's Hall, on Tues- 
day, April 24th; but the success of " Doctor Marigold," 
at the first Reading, was so pronounced, and the desire 
on the part of the public for its repetition so evident, 
that Messrs. Chappell, notwithstanding the fact that 
" David Copperfield " had been already announced, 
acceded to the general expressed wish. Supplemented 
by the ever-welcome recital of the ** Trial from Pick- 
wick," this reading excited, if possible, a greater furore 
than on the previous occasion. 

The " Trial Scene " was greeted with vociferous 
applause, as in other places ; but its effect was greatly 
increased here by the presence, amongst other dis- 
tinguished men, of the late Lord Chief Justice Cock- 
burn, an intimate friend of Mr. Dickens, whose readings 
in London he never failed to attend. To the Lord 
Chief Justice the reader always addressed the most 
salient points of the selection ; and at the delightful re- 
unions in Mr. Dickens's dressing-room after the reading, 
none, save the members of Mr. Dickens's own family, 
were so welcome as Sir Alexander Cockburn, whose 
judgment and opinion as a critic he most highly valued 
and appreciated. 

The following afternoon the travelling party were 
once again on their journeyings, m route for Manchester 



OUR TRAIN TAKES FIRE. 29 

and Liverpool, at which latter place Mr. Dickens was 
announced to give two Readings, and at the former, one. 
On this journey a slight accident to the train led to 
a circumstance which gave Mr. Dickens an opportunity, 
for which he had long been looking, to write with the 
object of improving the commissariat at railway stations, 
which, it may be within the experience of my readers, 
was at that time conducted in a most unsatisfactory 
manner. On the arrival of the train at Rugby, it was 
discovered that the carriage in which we were travelling 
was on fire. Futile efforts were made to extinguish the 
flames, and it was at last found necessary to transfer 
the passengers to another carriage, and, with this view, 
to detach the burning one from the train, and replace 
it by another. Mr. Dickens, not being aware of this, 
had entered the refreshment-room with Mr. Wills to 
get some coffee. While I was busy superintending the 
transfer of the light baggage, Mr. Dickens came along 
the platform in a state of great excitement, and re- 
quested me to accompany him to the refreshment-room. 
Then, standing in the doorway, and pointing with his 
finger, he described the picture he particularly wished 
to impress on my mind. " You see, Dolby — stove to 
right hand— torn cocoanut matting on floor — counter 
across room — coffee-urn— tea-urn — plates of rusks — 
piles of sawdust sandwiches and shrunken-up oranges 
—bottles— tumblers— and glasses on counter— and, 
behind counter, note particularly OUR missis." To this 



%o CHARLES DICKENS. 

I might have added : two figures standing in the door- 
way — one, myself, whom my inherent modesty will not 
permit me to describe — the other, a man respectably 
attired in the usual lower garments, well cut and well 
made; over which a pea-jacket or "reefer," Count 
D'Orsay cloak, or *' wrap-rascal," while a hat, soft 
felt of the " wideawake " species, " broad in the brim," 
and worn jauntily on one side, gave a sort of roving 
appearance, or "modernized gentlemanly pirate " look, 
to the wearer, who was tall, upright, and sinewy ; his 
face, adorned with a wiry moustache and grizzly beard, 
struck one at once ; deep lined and bronzed, it was a 
philosopher's; the eyes, whose depths no man could 
fathom, were large and eloquent, and side by side 
lurked the iron will of a demon and the tender pity of 
an angel. His face had all the romance of the ancient 
Norseman, while his whole mien reminded one of 
nothing so much as a Viking. 

When the train was fairly off again, Mr. Dickens 
proceeded to explain. Entering the refreshment-room, 
he and Mr. Wills had each asked for a cup of coffee, 
which was supplied to them. While Wills was feeling 
in his pocket for some small change wherewith to 
pay, Mr. Dickens reached across the counter for the 
sugar and milk, when both articles were suddenly 
snatched away from him and placed beneath the 
counter, while his ears were greeted with the remark, 
made in shrill and shrewish tones. " You sha'n't have 



THE ORIGIN OF "THE BOY AT MUGBY." 31 

any milk and sugar 'till you two fellows have paid for 
your coffee.*' 

This speech was delivered by the woman whom he 
had pointed out to me as " our Missis," and it gave 
infinite amusement to a page in buttons, who, with that 
demoniacal spirit which seems to seize some boys at the 
idea of somebody else " catching it," was so overjoyed 
that he burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. 
The discomfited travellers left their coffee on the 
counter, after an apology for making so free with the 
sugar-basin. But it was an evil day for that " buttons," 
for he figured as '* The Boy at Mugby " in the next 
Christmas number of *' All the Year Round ; " a num- 
ber which, produced in the same year, 1866, under the 
title of *' Mugby Junction," and incorporating the 
stories of " Barbox Bros." and " Barbox Bros, and 
Co.," attained a circulation, in the first week of publica- 
tion, of over two hundred and fifty thousand copies. 

The same successful results, as on the previous visit 
to Manchester and Liverpool, attended the Readings on 
the 26th, 27th, and 28th of April ; *' Doctor Marigold" 
and " David Copperfield " being the special favourites. 

Fourteen of the original thirty Readings had now 
been given, and Mr. Dickens proceeded to fulfil an 
engagement to return to Scotland. Considerable 
pressure having been put upon myself in order to induce 
me to arrange for a Reading at Aberdeen, that city was 
included in the scheme. In addition to these ''Scotch " 



32 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Readings, we were obliged to arrange also to visit 
Birmingham and Clifton. An incident, wherein the 
Birmingham public had the advantage, may be men- 
tioned to show with what integrity and faithfulness 
Mr. Dickens carried out everything he undertook. The 
Readings announced were " Doctor Marigold " and the 
"Trial from Pickwick.'* From some unaccountable 
cause, in going on for the second Reading, Mr. Dickens 
took the wrong book to the platform with him, and 
before I had time to stop him he was well on with the 
story of Nicholas Nickleby at Mr. Squeers's school. 
There was nothing for it but to let the Reading proceed, 
as proceed it did, to the end, with perfect success. The 
immense audience, numbering 2100 people, remained 
seated, and the mistake that had been made was 
pointed out to Mr. Dickens by Mr. Wills ; upon which, 
with characteristic generosity, he at once returned to 
the platform, and, in one of his appropriate and good- 
humoured speeches, explained the accident to the 
audience, and put it to the vote, by a show of hands, 
whether they would like, after listening to him for two 
hours, to hear him for another half-hour in the *' Trial 
from Pickwick." To use his own words whenever 
he told the story against himself, *' they did like," as 
the ringing cheer of approval with which the little 
speech was received amply testified. So, after two 
hours' hard work, he buckled to once more, and amidst 
uproarious merriment read the famous ** Trial.'* 




W. II. WILLS. 

From a photograph by Cuiidall, Dowiies d~ Co. 



THE ARTFUL SANDWICH, ETC. 33 

After the London Reading on the 14th of May, we 
started for Aberdeen on the following morning. The 
journey, being an unusually long one, occupying about 
eighteen hours, extra supplies were deemed necessary 
in the commissariat department, with a view to render- 
ing the party independent of the vagaries of the 
refreshment-rooms en route, Mr. Dickens undertook to 
provide the '' artful sandwich " and the iced gin punch 
by way of a " tiffin," whilst I arranged to provide the 
more substantial part of the repast for ourselves and the 
men, i,e.y Mr. Dickens' servant and the gasman. 

The early summer weather being exceptionally fine, 
everything promised what our American friends would 
call " a good time." The first thing to be done, when 
we had fairly started on our journey, in the comfortable 
saloon carriage in which we spent all our hours of 
Scotch travel, was to "put the house in order," at 
which everybody worked hard. The baskets had to be 
unpacked, and the plates, linen, knives, forks, spoons, 
glasses, &c., were carefully stowed away in the 
" pantry ; ** a larder was improvised and the ** sub- 
stantial comforts " placed within it. The wines were 
taken from the travelling basket, and placed with the 
gin punch, in ice, in the wash-hand-stand, so that the 
whole presented the appearance of a well-ordered 
house rather than of a railway carriage which was 
being dragged along at the rate of fifty miles an hour 
by the ** Flying Scotchman." 



34 CHARLES DICKENS. 

For the benefit of epicures a description of the 
** artful sandwich '* (as Mr. Dickens was wont to call 
it) may not be out of place. A French roll, cut in 
slices and well buttered ; on the buttered side place 
chopped parsley ; and lastly, a hard-boiled egg, cut in 
slices, with the addition of either anchovy paste, or, 
better still, the anchovy fish itself. A pleasant game 
of three-handed cribbage having been enjoyed, with 
a modicimi of gin punch and some of the " artfuls," we 
found ourselves at York ; and then thoughts were 
concentrated on the repast of the day. With some 
salmon mayonnaise, a plain lettuce salad, some pressed 
beef, cold fowls and tongue, and a cold cherry tart, 
with a Wiilt fromage de Rochefort to finish, together with 
some coffee, made by the aid of a spirit-lamp, we con- 
trived to pass the time very pleasantly until within a 
short distance of Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

The conversation turned upon the subject of dancing, 
and Mr. Dickens being an adept in the terpsichorean 
art, and, above all, in the performance of a ** sailor's 
hornpipe," it was agreed that he should execute this 
national dance. Here, however, an unforeseen diffi- 
culty presented itself, for — though I had used every 
endeavour to make my arrangements for the journey 
as complete as possible — such a thing as an orchestra 
had never suggested itself as indispensable to travel. 
But it was settled that Mr. Wills and myself should 
form the orchestra ; so we supplied a whistling accom- 



AN INTERRUPTED HORNPIPE. 35 

paniment while the dancer footed it merrily, in spite 
of the frequent collapses of the orchestra in explosive 
laughter at the absurdity of the situation and the 
pretended indignation of the dancer at the indifference 
of the music. The sudden *' break -down " of the 
engine through the bursting of a pipe brought **the 
entertainment " to a close, and we had a walk in the 
fields and woods a little north of Morpeth for nearly 
half an hour, until another locomotive could be found 
somewhere to take the train on to Berwick. Ever 
memorable to me will be these my journeyings and 
their agreeable surroundings, and I trust they will 
enable me to give the reader some idea of a phase in 
Mr. Dickens's nature, which was apparent only to 
a limited circle of friends with whom he felt himself 
quite at his ease, and to entertain whom, in that 
genial way of which he seemed to be sole possessor, he 
would take any amount of pains and trouble. In all 
his actions the dominant motive was a consideration 
for others. 

As evening closed in, the party amused themselves 
with more games of cribbage and some ** dummy " 
whist, and after supping upon the remains of the 
banquet, and partaking of a glass of grog, we " turned 
in " for a comfortable sleep on the sofas until we 
arrived at Aberdeen and found comfortable quarters 
at the Royal Hotel, a house then kept by the late 
Davy Robertson, the most genial of Scottish landlords, 



36 CHARLES DICKENS. 

and patronized by the Royal Family, when journeying 
from London to Balmoral, before the railway system 
was completed as far as Ballater. 

The Reading itself, though a success from a 
monetary point of view, was perhaps the least enthu- 
siastically received of any given, before or since ; a fact 
which may perhaps be accounted for by the remark of 
the local agent when I questioned him about the prob- 
ability of success : " Weel, Misther Doalby, I'm no pra- 
pared t' state positively what yewr actiel receats '11 be, 
for ye see, sir, amangst ma ain freends there are v airy few 
wha ha' tver haird o' Chairles Dickens,'* This man held 
a good social and commercial position, and was con- 
nected with the best musical societies in Aberdeen ! 
Thinking that musical artists were perhaps more to his 
taste, I sounded his knowledge of the leading singers; 
by this means I discovered that those coming from 
Edinburgh and Glasgow were the most popular, 
while the name of Sims Reeves (so far the greatest, 
and deservedly the most popular, of English tenors) 
was even less known than that of Charles Dickens. 

On the following day. May 17th, there being no 
Reading, and nothing to do but to travel to Glasgow, 
it was determined to break the journey at Perth, with 
the intention of taking, on the banks of the Tay, one 
of those long walks in which Mr. Dickens so much 
delighted. It was a lovely day, and we enjoyed the 
walk thoroughly ; also the early dinner in the coffee 



THE CHIEF'S BIRTH-PLACE. 37 

room of the George Hotel ; from the windows of which 
there is a view of the quaint old bridge over the river, 
which is one of the most picturesque in my memory. 

On arriving in Glasgow Mr. Dickens was attacked 
by a severe cold, and it was with difficulty that he 
could get through the Reading; indeed, but for the 
fact that all the tickets had been sold, and that great 
inconvenience would result to so large a concourse of 
people in the event of his not giving his Reading, he 
would have postponed it. In the hope that a little 
fresh air and a change from the depressing effects of 
the Glasgow atmosphere would do him good, a trip in 
a private steamer was taken down the Clyde. This 
had the desired effect ; for in the evening he appeared 
on the platform in the best of spirits, and read with all 
his wonted vigour of freshness. 

After the Edinburgh Reading my first provincial 
tour with Mr. Dickens ended at Portsmouth. 

In the hope that the sea breezes might have the effect 
of relieving Mr. Dickens of the cold from which he was 
still suffering, we decided to visit Southsea before the 
Portsmouth Reading. And here two amusing incidents 
occurred. 

On the morning after our arrival we set out for a 
walk, and turning the corner of a street suddenly, found 
ourselves in Landport Terrace. The name of the street 
catching Mr. Dickens's eye, he suddenly exclaimed, **By 
Jove ! here is the place where I was born ; " and, acting 



38 CHARLES DICKENS. 

on his suggestion, we walked up and down the terrace 
for some time, speculating as to which of the houses 
had the right to call itself his cradle. Beyond a recol- 
lection that there was a small front garden to the house 
he had no idea of the place — for he was only two years 
old when his father was removed to London from Ports- 
mouth. As the houses were nearly all alike, and each 
had a small front garden, we were not much helped in 
our quest by Mr. Dickens's recollections, and great was 
the laughter at his humorous conjectures. He must 
have lived in one house because ** it looked so like his 
father ; " another one must have been his home because 
it looked like the birthplace of a man who had deserted 
it ; a third was very like the cradle of a puny, weak 
youngster such as he had been ; and so on, through the 
row. According to his own account, Southsea had 
not contributed much to his physical strength, neither 
indeed had Chatham ; for, he used to say, he always was 
a puny, weak youngster, and never used to join in games 
with the same zest that other boys seemed to have. He 
never was remarkable, according to his own account, 
during his younger days, for anything but violent spas- 
modic attacks, which used to utterly prostrate him, and 
for indomitable energy in reading: — cricket, ** chevy," 
top, marbles, ** peg in the ring," "tor," "three holes," 
or any of the thousand and one boys' games, had no 
charm for him, save such as lay in watching others 
play. But as none of the houses in Landport Terrace 



MR. WILLS'S PRISON. 39 

could cry out and say, as he recounted these facts, 
** That boy was born here ! " the mystery remained 
unsolved, and we passed on. 

The other incident occurred in the course of the 
same walk. It is well known what interest Mr. Dickens 
took in all matters connected with prison life ; and Mr. 
Wills having mentioned that he was intimately ac- 
quainted with the governor of a military prison some- 
where in Gosport (the name of which, also the name 
of the governor, he had forgotten), a search was made, 
in the hope of refreshing Wills's memory. After walk- 
ing some distance through clouds of dust driven by a 
cold easterly wind (by no means unusual in England 
in the month of May), and meeting no one on the road, 
either of a civil, naval, or military character, able to 
give any information about the prison, it was suggested 
that this institution existed only in Wills's imagination ; 
a suspicion which broadened into a fact when inquiries 
were made of the landlord of a most comfortable-looking 
hostelry on the roadside. 

Returning to Southsea by another road, we suddenly 
found ourselves in a sort of elongated " square," that 
should be called *' oblong,'* open at each end, such as 
is to be met with in Dutch towms ; the houses on each 
side resembled a scene "set" for the comic business of a 
pantomime ; they were of red brick, with clean windows 
and white window frames, while green jalousie blinds 
of the most dazzling description added a little to the 



40 CHARLES DICKENS. 

*' tone " of the place. Here the temptation to Mr. 
Dickens to indulge his predilections for imitating the 
frolics of a Clown — of the Grimaldi, Flexmore, and Tom 
Matthews type — presented itself. The street being 
entirely free from people, Mr. Dickens mounted three 
steps leading to one of the houses, which had an 
enormous brass plate on its green door; and, having 
given three raps on the doorpost, was proceeding to 
lie down on the upper step, clown fashion, when the 
door suddenly opened and a stout woman appeared, to 
the intense amusement of the " pantaloon " (myself) 
and Wills, who immediately beat a retreat in the style 
known in pantomime as a " rally," followed by Mr. 
Dickens with an imaginary policeman after him. The 
wind, which was very high at the time, added to the 
frolic, driving Mr. Dickens's hat before it, in the 
direction of the river, causing us to forget the situation 
and eagerly chase the hat to catch it ere the frolicsome 
blast drove it into the water. Then, and then only, we 
turned to take a parting look at the scene of action, 
when, to our dismay, we saw every doorstep and door- 
way occupied by the amused tenants of the houses. 
There was another stampede, which was stopped by an 
open drain, from which emanated an odour of anything 
but a pleasant character, suddenly making the party 
pale as ghosts, and necessitating the administration, 
medicinally, of course, of a strong dose of brandy-and- 
water at the nearest hotel. 



THE CLOSE OF THE TOUR. 41 

Three more Readings in London followed. On Tues- 
day, May 29th, " Doctor Marigold " and " Nicholas 
Nickleby at Mr. Squeers's School ; " on Tuesday, June 
5th, " David Copperfield " and '' Boots at the Holly 
Tree Inn ; " and on Tuesday, June 12th, " Doctor 
Marigold " (by general desire) and the " Trial from 
Pickwick.'* Thus the first engagement with Messrs. 
Chappell was completed to the satisfaction of every one 
concerned. Writing shortly before the close of the 
tour, Mr. Dickens said, " Everything is done for me 
with the utmost liberality and consideration ; every want 
I can have on these journeys is anticipated, and not 
the faintest spark of the tradesman spirit ever peeps 
out." 

It was, and is, a matter of pride with me that my 
efforts — supported by the liberality of the Messrs. 
Chappell — to make the tour a successful and, at the 
same time, a pleasing one to Mr. Dickens, should have 
been so appreciated by him; an appreciation which he 
showed, not only by his confidence, but by presenting 
me with a complete set of the Illustrated Library 
Edition of his works, and a letter which I cannot read, 
even at this distance of time, without a keen pang for 
the loss of so kind and true a friend, and for the 
bereavement which the world suffered by the death of 
one of the greatest of its social benefactors. 



CHAPTER II. 

A GLIMPSE OF LIFE AT *' GAD's.'* 






|HE success of the first tour having proved 
to Mr. Dickens that the difficulties which 
had compelled him to give up his Readings 
for so long a time had been overcome, it 
was but natural that he should be desirous of continu- 
ing an enterprise which, in addition to the pleasure 
it afforded him, was a means of adding largely to his 
income ; and that, when Messrs. Chappell made a 
proposal to him for a second tour, under their manage- 
ment, it should be favourably considered, especially as 
Messrs. Chappell gave him to understand that, taking 
into consideration the facts of the great success of the 
first tour (at a season of the year not the best for indoor 
entertainments), they considered they would only be 
acting fairly to Mr. Dickens in augmenting the terms 
for the second tour, which they suggested should com- 
mence at the beginning of the coming year (1867), and 



THE NEW TERMS— ";^6o A NIGHT." 43 

which they proposed should extend to '* fifty Readings 
in Great Britain and Ireland " (and in Paris, as in the 
first engagement, if necessary), 

Mr. Dickens's first idea was to ask Messrs. Chappell 
seventy pounds each Reading, with all expenses paid 
as before ; but, at a conference which I had with him 
whilst on a visit to Gad's Hill, in the month of August, 
1866— wherein I held the dual position of agent, or 
manager, to Messrs. Chappell, and friend and adviser, 
in this respect, to Mr. Dickens — he decided on accept- 
ing an engagement with those gentlemen to give forty- 
two Readings for the round sum of :f 2,500 ; and after- 
wards, writing to a friend who acted in all cases as 
his business adviser, he thus expressed his views: 
** It would be unreasonable to ask anything now on 
the ground of the extent of the late success, but I am 
bound to look to myself for the future. The Chappells 
are speculators, though of the worthiest, and most 
honourable kind. They make some bad speculations, 
and have made a very good one in this case, and will 
set this against those. I told them when we agreed : * I 
offer these thirty Readings to you at fifty pounds a night 
because I know perfectly well beforehand that no one 
in your business has the least idea of their real worth, 
and I wish to prove it.' " 

The result of the negotiations was thus described by 
Mr. Dickens: "Chappell instantly accepts my pro- 
posal for forty nights at sixty pounds a night, and every 



44 CHARLES DICKENS. 

conceivable and inconceivable expense paid. To make 
an even sum I have made it forty-two nights for 
3^2,500 ; so I shall now try to discover a Christmas 
number, and shall, please heaven, be quit of the whole 
series of Readings, so as to get to work on a new story 
for the new series of ' All the Year Round,' early in the 
spring. The Readings begin probably with the New 
Year." 

This arrangement being completed, as much of the 
interim as possible between the first and second tours 
was pleasantly passed in the society of Mr. Dickens. 
A personal sorrow which fell on myself at this time 
was greatly alleviated by frequent visits to ** Gad's," 
and by a chat every Thursday at the office of " All the 
Year Round," in Wellington Street, Strand — Thursday 
being the day devoted by Mr. Dickens to the " making 
up " of the paper — an engagement that was never 
broken when both were in town, unless some unavoid- 
able circumstance occurred to prevent its observance. 

The domestic staff at the office of the ** A. Y. R.," as 
he called it, was composed, at the time of which I am 
speaking, of a man-servant (the one who travelled with 
Mr. Dickens) and an old and valued female servant who 
was an excellent cook. The luncheon at one o'clock 
was of the simplest character, but its simplicity was 
made really luxurious by the geniality of the host. He 
seemed to invest everything with an odour of grateful- 
ness ; everything he placed before you . seemed to be 



AN INCOMPARABLE HOST. 45 

imbued with a virtue that nothing else in the world 
possessed; the most ordinary things in life became 
special in his presence — he gave you a cigar, which 
you or I might have smoked the counterpart of many a 
time, still there never was such a cigar as the one he 
had just presented to you. A little brandy never rolled 
down man's throat before in the way in which that drop 
of liquor went down yours. You knew that you were 
being entertained by a connoisseur and a man of taste, 
and everything was doubly grateful; and yet, notwith- 
standing that he gave such choiceness to everything, 
he partook but sparingly himself, and seemed to parti- 
cipate in other people's enjoyment of what was laid 
before them, rather than to have any pleasure in the 
good things himself. 

The "office" having been spoken of, a few words 
about Gad's Hill may not be out of place ; and a 
reference to the way in which it became the property of 
its distinguished owner may not be uninteresting. 

Gad's Hill, as everybody knows, is situated about 
half way between Gravesend and Rochester, on the 
high-road to Dover from London; which high-road 
divided the ground appertaining to the property into 
two parts — one of which contained the house, lawns, 
pleasure grounds, kitchen gardens, and walled-in 
croquet ground, stable-yard, stabling, &c. ; and the 
other consisted of a well-wooded piece of ground, 
forming a sort of wilderness, in which stood two 



46 CHARLES DICKENS. 

magnificent cedars. There were also picturesque 
banks, on which grew ivy, and, in the summer, nas- 
turtiums, mignonette, and other flowers, affording a 
combination of colour as unusual as it was pleasing to 
the eye. 

The house itself was approached through massive 
oak gates, from either corner of the property, by a 
semi-circular carriage drive, and was a two-storeyed, 
plain, red-brick building, looking rather more ancient 
than it really was, with a belfry in the roof and a 
quaint-looking porch, approached by stone steps in 
front. At each side of the porch was a bay window, 
that to the left lighting the drawing-room, and that 
to the right the library — a room now more than ordi- 
narily celebrated by the publication in the ** Graphic," 
at the time of Mr. Dickens's death, of the picture of 
'' The Vacant Chair." 

The entrance hall — which was spacious and square, 
having a door opposite to the principal entrance, from 
which a staircase led to the back lawn — immediately 
impressed one with the idea of an amount of comfort, 
regularity, and order not usually met with in other 
houses ; while it also suggested a hospitality of the most 
genial character to come — a hospitality such as one 
might have been led to expect by the kindest of recep- 
tions from the host himself at the railway station of 
Higham, two and a half miles distant from the house. 
A drive through the pleasantest of the Kentish country, 



THE PURCHASE OF "GAD'S." 47 

either on an " outside " Irish jaunting car ; or, in fine 
weather, in a basket carriage, with the nattiest of ponies, 
driven by Mr. Dickens ; or, in wet weather, with a 
brougham drawn by the most knowing and best trained 
of cobs with a " hogmain ; " always escorted by three 
or four enormous dogs of the Mount St. Bernard, 
mastiff, or Newfoundland species, brought the visitor 
to the house. 

Gad's Hill Place, as the house was called, was the 
fancy of Mr. Dickens's boyish days ; for in his youth he 
had always had a longing to become possessor of the 
place, which longing was satisfied in a curious way. 

In 1856, Mr. Wills happened one day to be seated 
at table next to a lady slightly known to Mr. Dickens, 
who turned out to be the owner of the property. In 
the course of conversation with Mr. Wills this lady 
happened incidentally to mention that she was desirous 
of parting with the place, a fact which Mr. Wills 
took the earliest opportunity of communicating to Mr. 
Dickens, who gave instructions for negotiations to be 
entered into for its purchase and transfer, which Mr. 
Dickens regarded more in the light of an investment 
than anything else — as he had a house in London at 
the time, viz., Tavistock House, which he did not leave 
until i860. 

Having, however, disposed of Tavistock House, he 
determined on making " Gad's " his home, and set to 
work to effect such alterations as would be necessary 



48 CHARLES DICKENS. 

to convert it into a fitting residence for himself and 
family. Since it had been built, somewhere about the 
year 1780, it had changed hands several times, but 
without being much improved. 

In fact, from the time Mr. Dickens abandoned the 
idea of regarding the property merely as an invest- 
ment, and decided to make the place his home, work- 
people of one kind or another were always employed 
in converting ** Gad's" into the most perfect and com- 
fortable of houses to those privileged friends who were 
fortunate enough to be visitors there. 

Between the study and billiard-room doors, the walls 
were decorated with two notable paintings by Clarkson 
Stanfield, one of which represented the Eddystone 
Lighthouse, and had been used as an act drop in 
some private theatricals at Tavistock House, in 1855. 
Although it took the great painter less than a couple 
of days to execute, and that at a time when he was 
very ill, this picture fetched 1,000 guineas at the sale 
at Gad's Hill, after the gth of June, 1870. The other 
picture was a scene used in the ** Frozen Deep," also 
played at Tavistock House, and subsequently at the 
Gallery of Illustration in 1857, before Her Majesty the 
Queen, H.R.H. the Prince Consort, and the Court, 
for the *' Jerrold Fund." In the hall, a conspicuous 
object was a letter-box, with a capacious mouth capable 
of receiving books, official letters, and parcels of manu- 
script, with the times of departure of the mail painted on 



A PECULIARITY OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 49 

it in large figures. At the further end of the entrance- 
hall, a flight of steps led to the back lawn, which was 
divided from a field at the back by a stone wall, resem- 
bling a terrace with balustrades, and massive iron gates, 
which gave ingress to the field over a ** haw-haw." 

A peculiarity of the household was the fact that, 
except at table, no servant was ever seen about. This 
was because the requirements of life were always ready 
to hand, especially in the bed-rooms. Each of thece 
rooms contained the most comfortable of beds, a sofa, 
and easy-chair, caned-bottom chairs — in which Mr. 
Dickens had a great belief, always preferring to use 
one himself— a large-sized writing-table, profusely sup- 
plied with paper and envelopes of every conceivable size 
and description, and an almost daily change of new quill 
pens. There was a miniature library of books in each 
room, a comfortable fire in winter, with a shining copper 
kettle in each fireplace ; and on a side-table, cups, 
saucers, tea-caddy, teapot, sugar and milk, so that this 
refreshing beverage was always attainable, without even 
the trouble of asking for it. 

There was no specified time for the guests to be at 
breakfast, that meal being on the table from nine to 
ten, or half-past ; and unless some early excursion to a 
place of note in the neighbourhood had been arranged, 
the visitors were left to do as they pleased in the morn- 
ing ; Mr. Dickens, as a rule, taking a turn or two round 
the domain to see that everything was in order outside 



so CHARLES DICKENS. 

as well as inside the house, visiting, each in its turn, 
the gardens, stables, kennels, and afterwards devoting 
himself to his literary duties and correspondence. 

Luncheon was served at half-past one, when all 
were supposed to have got through their letters, 
reading, writing, or lounging, or whatever occupation 
might have engrossed their morning leisure ; and then 
the pleasure of the day began, or was arranged system- 
atically — for Mr. Dickens was always systematic— over 
that most pleasant of repasts, generally resulting in a 
walk through one of the beautiful woods which abound 
in that part of the country, such as Cobham Park — with 
its noble avenues, its rich green grassy slopes, its noble 
oaks and elms, beneath which the deer graze in peaceful 
security, and its magnificent old hall — the residence of 
Lord Darnley, who with characteristic generosity had 
presented Mr. Dickens with a private key to all the 
gates in the Park, so that, whether walking, driving, or 
riding, there was no *' let or hindrance," so far as he 
and his friends were concerned, to their thorough 
enjoyment of the beauties of the place. For those for 
whom the place had a fascination, a visit to the 
" Leather Bottle," the retreat of the disappointed 
Tracy Tupman, to Rochester Castle, or some other 
distant place, or a game at croquet or bowls on the 
lawn, passed the hours agreeably till dinner-time, when, 
to use a theatrical phrase, everybody was supposed "to 
be on ; " and, whether the house were full of guests, or 



**IT WAS ALL GENIALITY AT 'GAD'S.'" 51 

whether only one or two were staying there, there was 
never any difference made in the arrangements, a fact 
which was apparent in the ease and order with which 
everything was done. The dinners were Hke everything 
else in the house — superlatively good, with a menu 
calculated to baffle the criticism of the most epicurean, 
and the conversation, under the generalship of such a 
host, never flagging for a moment. 

Then came an hour or two in the drawing-room, 
where Miss Dickens and Miss Georgina Hogarth held 
their genial court — it was all geniality at " Gad's." 
After this the gentlemen adjourned to the billiard-room, 
where, before going to bed, some little time was spent 
in the enjoyment of some excellent cigars and a walk 
round the table to the *' click " of the balls, either 
in a game at " pool " or a " contest " at billiards, Mr. 
Dickens being fond of contests, for, he used to say, *' it 
brings out the mettle." Then, so far as the host was 
concerned, the day was done, for it was his invariable 
habit to retire to bed at midnight — but without imposing 
any condition upon his guests, that they should follow 
his example — the most intimate of his male friends 
present, if none of his sons were there, being delegated 
"host" in his absence, with strict injunctions to *' see 
the gas out all right," and to take great care of the 
keys of the sideboard until morning. The billiard-room 
being far away from the residential part of the house, 
and with no sleeping rooms near it, except the *' bache- 

3 



52 CHARLES DICKENS. 

lors* rooms," it not unfrequently happened, especially 
in summer-time, that the gas was " seen out " by the 
brilliance of the morning sun, which made the carrying 
of a night candlestick to the bed-room a matter of form. 
Under these circumstances it was amusing, and at 
times a trifle disconcerting, on entering the breakfast- 
room in the morning, to watch the merry twinkle in 
the host's eyes as he expressed a hope that " you had 
slept well," and remained in apparent ignorance of the 
fact that the guest so addressed had not been in bed. 
It is not surprising that such time as I had at disposal 
for runs down to " Gad's '* was happily spent there ; 
and that those visits tended to render our friendship 
stronger and firmer, and promised well for a pleasant 
time during the business campaign in the coming winter. 

Over a dinner at the *' Blue Posts," in Cork Street 
— a favourite establishment with Mr. Dickens — the 
plans and prospects for the forthcoming tour were fully 
discussed. The idea of giving Readings in Paris was 
abandoned, Mr. Dickens being of opinion that it would 
be useless to go to Paris for less than four Readings, 
which could not be given in a shorter space of time than 
two weeks, as there was so much to see and to do in 
that city. It was therefore decided to make Paris a 
special field for future operations, when he should have 
more time to spare. 

Thus matters went on pleasantly till the Christmas 
of 1866. '* Barbox Brothers " and the *' Boy at Mugby " 



A TRIAL READING. 53 

having been " condensed " (to use the author's own 
word) into reading form, and ** Gad's " being full of 
guests, and more than full — for not only was every 
available room in the house occupied, but extra rooms 
were engaged at the Falstaff Inn, which stood oppo- 
site the entrance-gates, for those who could not be 
quartered in the house — advantage was taken of these 
circumstances to give a private Reading, or trial, of the 
works so abridged. The members of Parliament in the 
district, naval and military officers from Chatham, and 
neighbours were invited; and a grand entertainment, 
consisting of a dinner and a Reading afterwards, was 
provided. After dinner, the reading-desk, which had 
been specially sent down from London, was placed in 
the drawing-room, and a mimic Reading took place, 
resulting in a general verdict that " Barbox " and " The 
Boy " would, as Readings, rival *' Doctor Marigold " — a 
prophecy regarded with considerable doubt and mis- 
givings by the author and certain of the more practical 
judges then present, who, as matters afterwards turned 
out, were justified in their scepticism. After the Read- 
ing there were some games. Mr. Dickens prided him- 
self on his skill in guessing a subject fixed upon during 
his absence from the room. His success in penetrating 
people's thoughts was so marked that it would by some 
have been termed "spiritualistic." For spiritualism 
Mr. Dickens had a profound contempt. 

Many times in taking part in this game with Mr. 



54 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Dickens I have been astounded at the unerring cer- 
tainty with which he discovered the subject, however 
puzzling it might be. I remember he always men- 
tioned with great satisfaction his triumph over a 
*' poser" invented, I believe, by Miss Georgina Ho- 
garth, viz., '^ the boot on the off-leg of a postillion." 
In a double way was he skilful at the game, for not 
only was he a very searching expositor of people's 
thoughts, but in the invention of subjects wherewith 
to puzzle others he was equally clever. 

A description of Gad's Hill, and the things thereat, 
would be more than imperfect without a reference to 
the dogs, which played a very important part in the 
life there ; not only on account of the love their m.aster 
had for them individually, but on account also of his ap- 
preciation of their usefulness in protecting his property. 
No country road, perhaps, in England is so much tra- 
versed by tramps and beggars as the high-road be- 
tween Gravesend and Rochester, especially in the hop 
season, when London seems to pour out every avail- 
able kind of pauper — male, female, and child — for the 
hop-picking; although, be it said, amongst this class 
even, there were some to whom a deaf ear was never 
turned when they made their necessities known to the 
owner of " Gad's " or his amiable family. Amongst 
the beggars were many suffering from consumption, 
who would walk miles and endure unheard-of suffer- 
ings to find employment in a hop-garden, having a 



HIS KINDNESS TO THE HOP-PICKERS. 55 

superstition that the dust of the newly-picked hop, 
flying into the throat of the picker, was a cure for this 
most malignant of diseases. Tramping long distances, 
without shoes in many cases, and invariably with little 
or no food, the men carried heavy bundles containing 
rags, more ragged perhaps than those on the backs of 
their owners, a tin kettle, and a pan or two for cooking 
purposes (whenever they could get anything to cook) ; 
the women were jaded and worn with the fatigue of 
carrying a baby, or two sometimes, while all too often 
had the shiver which comes of sleeping under wet 
hedges and in wet grass, and which points only too 
surely to the one cure, if the end of a disease can be 
called a cure — the final one — death. 

Mr. Dickens's kindness of heart and his love of 
children (no matter of what class) always enlisted his 
sympathies with these people ; and, profligate though 
they might have been, he always had a kind and en- 
couraging word to say to them, and something to give 
by way of endorsing his principles in a practical way ; 
his wonderful judgment of character doubtless assisting 
him in this respect, and, if nothing else, his parting 
greeting of " God bless you," and the earnest way in 
which it was said, seemed to give the poor creatures a 
sense that there were yet kind hearts in the world, and 
that they poor sufferers were not so " low down '* but 
that true sympathies were to be met with, even in the 
most unexpected quarters and under the most adverse 
circumstances. 



56 CHARLES DICKENS. 

It was not only in the hop season though that the 
pedestrian element was of a ** vagarious character." 
There seemed all the year round to be a perpetual 
tramping along that road, occasionally relieved by the 
march-past of a regiment of soldiers, either going to 
Gravesend for rifle practice or returning from it, or of 
a battery or two of artillery changing quarters between 
Woolwich and Chatham. Sometimes there came a 
load of Americans, who had snatched sufficient time 
from their London pleasures to run down to Gravesend, 
and, having chartered a cab, pulled up on the roadside 
to take a look at the place " where Dickens lived." 
Such of these as were enterprising enough — and there 
are very few of our " American cousins " who have not 
this qualification — to send in their cards (prompted as 
a rule to do so by the cabman, who, by the by, "just 
wanted to wash his horse's mouth out " at the *' Fal- 
staff " opposite), asking permission to walk round the 
grounds and through the house, invariably met with a 
hearty response to their request; and, while apologizing, 
as they generally did, for the seeming intrusion, were 
made to feel that their visit was a source of pleasure to 
Mr. Dickens and his family ; and, if he happened to be 
about, the visit was not the less appreciated for a few 
friendly words from him, in grateful remembrance of 
the many dear friends he had in America. 

The tramping and vagrant element made the dogs a 
necessity; not that they were (with one exception) 



THE DOGS. 57 

ferocious, unless *' set on," which, however, was never 
necessary, for it was sufficient for a tramp to cast his 
eye over the stable-yard to be convinced of the pru- 
dence of not pursuing his inquiries any farther. Four 
or five big dogs of the mastiff or Newfoundland breed, 
attached to chains sufficiently long to cover any por- 
tion of the yard, acted as a deterrent to the inquisitive 
mind of any stranger of the beggar class, for the ani- 
mals hated rags, as do most dogs. 

These dogs were perfectly trained, and had the 
instinct never to forget a visitor to whom they were 
properly introduced, and who was accordingly allowed 
to go in and out of the yard as though the dogs had 
known him or her all their lives. So it was as much 
a duty on the part of the host to introduce his guests 
to the dogs as it was to introduce a stranger to his 
family and the other guests staying in the house. 
Thus the hospitality of '* Gad's " included the stable- 
yard ; and it was a curious thing to notice the reten- 
tiveness of memory on the part of the dogs, save the 
ferocious exception " Sultan," who was always kept 
muzzled. 

When I first visited Gad's Hill " Linda " was the 
favourite, vice " Turk," who had been killed by a rail- 
way accident. She was the puppy of a great Mount 
St. Bernard brought to England by the late Albert 
Smith, and one of the dogs exhibited by that most 
excellent of " showmen " in his entertainment " Mont 



S8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Blanc," at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and since 
immortalized by the late John Leech, in one of his 
admirable " Pencillings from Punch." The mother of 
*' Linda" and her companion are now, if not dead, receiv- 
ing royal hospitality at the hands of Her Majesty the 
Queen, at Windsor Castle. As an instance of the saga- 
city of these two dogs, Mr. Dickens, some three or 
four years before his death, used to relate how, when 
walking one day between Slough and Windsor, he 
met a royal groom on horseback accompanied by the 
dogs. The dogs recognized Mr. Dickens, and it was 
with difficulty that the groom could get them to leave 
him. 

But ** Sultan," the Irish mastiff, was a most ferocious 
beast, and the only person who had any control or 
power over him was his master. This fellow was always 
kept muzzled, but on one occasion he broke his strong 
chain, rushed into the road at a moment when a regi- 
ment of soldiers were passing on their way to Grave- 
send, and made such havoc in the ranks by upsetting 
several of the men, that he escaped immediate anni- 
hilation only through the intervention of the officer 
in command, who, being in the habit of visiting at 
" Gad's," and knowing the dog, had him arrested 
and taken to his own yard in charge of an orderly 
guard. 

Having killed a favourite kitten, and, it is supposed, 
eaten it, for the kitten's remains were never found, and 



THE EXECUTION OF "SULTAN." 59 

very nearly swallowed "Mrs. Bouncer," Miss Dickens's 
white Pomeranian dog, "Sultan" made a dash, one 
day, at a little girl, inflicting slight injury (the dog 
being muzzled), but giving the child a great fright. 
This last rash act sealed his doom, and, sorry as was 
his master to part with so handsome a beast, still law 
and order had to be maintained, and popular prejudice 
against ferocious dogs had to be supported. There 
was, therefore, nothing for it but to order the dog off 
for immediate execution ; the story of which tragedy 
was one which Dickens used to tell with a comical 
seriousness that made the listener feel sorry both for 
the dog and his master. 

The order for execution having been given, but with 
strict injunctions that the public were to be excluded, 
and no one in the house to know when it was to take 
place, a procession was formed, consisting of some six 
or seven men and boys from the stables and garden, a 
wheelbarrow, and a gun. The dog evidently thought, in 
the bloodthirstiness of his nature, on being let loose to 
join in the procession, that they were going to kill 
some one or something else ; and it was only when he 
had gone about half-way across the large field at the 
back of the house, that his eye rested on the wheel- 
barrow with a gun in it. It seemed to strike him 
there was something wrong, and he at once became 
depressed, looked steadfastly at the gardener, and 
walked to his place of execution with his head down. 



6o CHARLES DICKENS. 

Arrived at the corner of the field farthest from the 
house, one of the boys threw a large stone to induce 
the dog to go after it, or to lead him to believe there 
was something in the hedge where it struck. When 
** Sultan's" attention was thus diverted, two barrels 
were discharged into his heart, and he died without a 
struggle or a cry, deeply regretted by his loving master, 
who, be it said, was the only friend he had. He 
was buried in the field where he fell, and, despite the 
extraordinary precautions taken by the executioners 
not to disturb the family, the fatal shot was understood 
by them all, and a gloom rested on the house the whole 
of that day. 

Of another dog, " Bumble,'* there are many stories. 
Although well trained and obedient in every respect, 
he had a bad habit on returning from a long walk of 
eluding, if he could, his master's attention, and, when 
about two miles from home, would race there as fast as 
he could; whether to get his own dinner, and that of 
the other dogs as well, never could be ascertained. 

This freak had cost him many beatings from his 
master, and all to no purpose; when, one day, after 
castigating him more severely than usual, it occurred 
to Mr. Dickens, that he would give him a strong dose 
of castor oil. The next day the dog was very ill, and 
could not take his meals, but he never again ran away. 
Whenever he came to a place which reminded him of 
his past iniquity, he invariably ran to his master's 



THE CONVERSION OF "BUMBLE." 6i 

heels, and nothing could induce him to leave them 
until he found himself in his own yard. 

In time ''Bumble" became a parent, and one of his 
sons, christened by Mr. Dickens ''Chops," was pre- 
sented to me. He gave me ample scope for studying 
the heredity of genius. 




CHAPTER III. 

ON TOUR IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. 

|R. DICKENS was a great lover of cricket, 
and in the summer of 1866, he would 
often hurry back to Gad's Hill after a visit 
to town, in order to be present at a cricket 
match in the field at the back of his house — between 
his own Higham Club and some other club in the 
neighbourhood. 

This field was placed at the disposal of the Higham 
Club, the only condition being that a single case of 
drunkenness, or the use of bad language on the part 
of the members of the club, cancelled the privilege of 
using it ; and although there was a drinking booth 
on the ground, kept by the landlord of the Falstaff 
Inn, and notwithstanding that on match days, all 
kinds of people would be assembled there, including 
soldiers, sailors, and operatives from Chatham Dock- 
yard, no case of disorderly conduct ever occurred in 
that field. 



"BARBOX BROTHERS." 63 

The summer over, our thoughts began to be seriously 
occupied with the renewal of the Readings. I have 
already described the experimental reading of *'Barbox 
Brothers" and the " Boy at Mugby." Mr. Dickens "got 
it up " (as he would say) with his usual elaborate 
pains ; and, as if the work of this were not sufficient, 
with his other labours, he worked incessantly with 
Fechter in the production of a sensational drama at 
the Lyceum, entitled the *' Long Strike" by Dion 
Boucicault ; which, however, did not prove such a 
success as the time and energy bestowed upon it 
should have justified. 

The first pubhc Reading of "Barbox Brothers" took 
place in St. James's Hall, on Tuesday, January 15th, 
and justified the misgivings felt at the rehearsal. It 
was received cordially by the audience, but it was 
apparent that it would never take rank with the other 
works of its kind; and but for the extraordinary power 
possessed by the author in the rendering of his own 
works, and the curiosity which always attached to any- 
thing new from Mr. Dickens, it is doubtful whether the 
expression of opinion would not have been less favour- 
able than it was. 

He himself was conscious of this, and but for the 
fact that the Reading was already announced for some 
of the towns in the early part of the tour, it is probable 
that " Barbox " and " The Boy " would have been 
shelved, then and there. 



64 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Liverpool endorsed the opinion of London, as did 
also Birmingham; and after one more trial in London, 
and another in Leeds, the work was condemned for 
Reading purposes, and has never been heard since. 

We were now once more on our travels, and this 
time without Mr. Wills, whose time could be more 
profitably employed in conducting the affairs at the 
office, in Mr. Dickens's absence, than in travelling 
about the country for mere companionship. 

In the intimacy which had sprung up between Mr, 
Dickens and myself, it was not always convenient, 
either in addressing him personally, in correspondence, 
or in speaking of him to our friends, to refer to him as 
" Mr." Dickens, and as my respect for him prevented 
my calling him "Charles'* or ** Dickens," and as he 
disliked being addressed as " Sir," except by strangers, 
I was at times in difficulties. 

A trifling circumstance came to my rescue in the 
early part of our second tour. It was at Chester, on 
January 22, 1867, a day memorable to many in all 
parts of England, as one of the most severe during the 
winter of that year. 

We had left Liverpool early in the day for a Reading 
in Chester, that evening, in a blinding snow-storm and 
a furious easterly gale ; so bad was it that the Mersey 
was lashed up into a tremendous sea, the waves dash- 
ing over the boat. Arrived at Chester, we went to the 
Queen's Hotel, and here I left Mr. Dickens in what 



I DUB HIM "CHIEF.'' 65 

had the appearance of a most comfortable sitting-room, 
with a blazing fire, whilst I went into the city to attend 
to matters of business in connection with the evening's 
Reading. 

I had been absent about two hours, and on my 
return found him sitting on the hearthrug in front of 
the fire with my Turkish fez on his head, and a large 
coloured muffler round his neck, to protect him from a 
strong draught between the door and a double French 
window. As neither door nor window could be properly 
shut, the cold air had pretty much its own sportive 
way. 

I was amused to see him in this position, but when 
I asked him how he felt, he replied gruffly, **Like some- 
thing good to eat being kept cool in a larder. What 
do you think I look like ? " he asked. " Like an old 
chief," I replied, ** but without his pipe." The idea of 
his looking like a chief seemed to please him, and from 
that time I always addressed him by this name, which 
was generally adopted by his associates, and proclaimed 
as his title in the office of ** All the Year Round." 

In such fearful weather as we were then experi- 
encing, it is not surprising that even so potent a name 
as Charles Dickens should have failed to draw a large 
house in a country place, and the receipts on this 
occasion may be mentioned as the worst I ever knew 
during these tours. 

The snow on the ground was frozen, and, to make 



66 CHARLES DICKENS. 

matters worse, a heavy rain-storm had set in, the rain 
freezing the moment it touched the ground. Such a 
thing as a cab, or a vehicle of any kind, it was im- 
possible to get, so that we had to walk to the hall as 
best we could, for the streets were like glass. Walking 
as cautiously as we did, it was impossible to keep from 
slipping occasionally, and in one of my efforts to save 
myself, I gave Mr. Dickens a back-hander below^ the 
chest. Although the blow was rather a serious one, 
his sense of the comic came to my relief. **The next 
time you want to chuck me under the chin, Dolby, 
have the kindness to do it a little higher, if you 
please." 

Two evenings after this, we were at the Town Hall, 
Birmingham, when '' Barbox" and ** The Boy" had another 
chance, and where a catastrophe very nearly occurred, 
which in its effects might have been almost worse than 
the disappointing reception of this particular Reading. 
The reflector of the gas batten above Mr. Dickens's 
head was suspended from the supports by strong 
copper wire. By some mischance (probably owing to 
our having with us on this occasion a gas-man strange 
to the work, in place of our own man, invalided for the 
time) the copper wire was brought immediately over 
one of the gas jets of the batten, which caused it to 
get red-hot. This had passed unnoticed by every one, 
until close upon the conclusion of the Reading. As 
was my wont, I went to the side of the screen to 



A CATASTROPHE SAVED. 67 

receive Mr. Dickens at the end of his task, and 
happening to cast my eye along the batten discovered 
the red-hot wire. Pointing to the place of danger, I 
whispered, " How long shall you be ? '* He saw the 
state of affairs in an instant, and without in the least 
pausing in his reading, or displaying the slightest 
uneasiness, held up two fingers to me, by which I knew 
he meant either two minutes or two seconds. It 
turned out to be the latter, for in the most inconceiv- 
able manner he altered much of the reading to suit the 
occasion, and brought it to a speedy termination. To 
turn the gas off after he had left the platform was the 
work of a moment, and thus prevented a heavy sheet 
of iron falling amongst the audience, and doing incal- 
culable damage. Mr. Dickens had seen the danger 
much sooner than I had, for he told me that he had 
been watching the heating process from the middle of 
the Reading, and had calculated in his mind how long 
the wire would last ! 

It was on February 14th, after a Reading at St. James's 
Hall, that we started for Scotland, breaking our journey 
at Liverpool and Manchester, for three Readings. 

After this journey, Mr. Dickens complained very 
much of the effects of travelling by express trains, and 
he kept constantly referring to the Staplehurst acci- 
dent, which was ever present in his mind. It was 
decided between us that, so far as practicable, we would 
in future travel by slow trains. This plan seemed to 



68 CHARLES DICKENS. 

dispel his nervousness to a great extent ; but it had to be 
given up, as the delay and the monotony of these journeys 
were almost worse than the shaking of the expresses. 

Travelling to Glasgow by night, after a Reading in 
Manchester on Saturday, February i6th, we arrived 
there early on Sunday morning for a day's rest ; and 
having two days to spare in the following week, we 
decided on spending them at the Bridge of Allan rather 
than in the gloomy atmosphere of Glasgow. 

Being fortunate in our weather, we passed a most 
enjoyable time, especially in the long walks so dear to 
Mr. Dickens. 

In one of these rambles we made our way into Stir- 
ling, and thoroughly explored the Castle, finishing up 
the afternoon with an inspection of the gaol. 

At the inhospitable-looking door a warder answered 
our knock, and Mr. Dickens sent in his card to the 
governor, who, with true politeness, came to the gate 
to receive us. Mr. Dickens explained that, though he 
had seen much of gaols, he had never been inside a 
Scottish gaol. There was no difficulty whatever about 
the matter, and the governor, with a couple of war- 
ders, conducted us personally through the establish- 
ment, opening all the cell doors and allowing us to 
converse with their tenants. 

Here and there Mr. Dickens said kind and comfort- 
ing words to the prisoners, which seemed to be a relief 
to them in their miserable position. 



WE FIND OURSELVES IN A SCOTTISH GAOL. 69 

We were about to enter one cell to say a few words 
to a boy confined in it, but finding him reading a Bible, 
with a gentleman in clerical attire, we retired, thinking 
that perhaps the boy was receiving spiritual consola- 
tion from the chaplain. When the door was locked, I 
observed an amused expression on the governor's 
face, and inquired of him the nature of the boy's 
offence. 

He was a London boy, who had been imported into 
Scotland by a gang of native burglars — London boys 
being more expert in the " trade " than Scottish lads. 
The boy had not much hard labour in the exercise of 
his calling, for, like Oliver Twist, he was passed 
through a window to make an inspection of the interior 
of the house, and open a door, either back or front, to 
enable the burglars to enter without interference. Un- 
luckily for this particular boy, he did not understand 
the construction of Scotch houses, and during his 
first job got " lagged,'* whilst his friends contrived to 
escape. 

It was not at the boy, though, that the kind-hearted 
governor was laughing, but at Mr. Dickens and myself, 
and at our respectful demeanour to the boy's spiritual 
adviser, who was none other than a celebrated bank 
forger — a lithographer by trade — who had successfully 
forged bank-notes to a large amount, and had got off to 
America with the spoil. In New York he had repre- 
sented himself as a clergyman, and had been appointed 



70 CHARLES DICKENS. 

with a large stipend to one of the leading churches in 
America, where he did duty for some time. Supposing 
that he and his crime had been forgotten, he returned 
to Glasgow to arrange some private affairs, and, in an 
unfortunate moment (for him), was recognized, arrested, 
and condemned to penal servitude. 

The criminal side of the gaol being disposed of, we 
were conducted to the " debtors' " side, and here incar- 
ceration had quite another aspect. Here were some 
fifteen or twenty persons in a large room, with a com- 
fortable blazing fire. Some were playing draughts and 
dominoes, others reading newspapers or books, and all 
seemed to enjoy themselves, and regard us as intruders 
on their happiness. 

One of the debtors recognized Mr. Dickens, who 
was very soon surrounded by this queer company. 
Some pointed out to him the folly and iniquity of con- 
fining them in prison until their debts were paid ; but 
most of them expressed themselves highly pleased with 
their lot, and declared that so long as their creditors 
chose to pay for their maintenance, they were quite 
content to stay where they were ; for, except that they 
were deprived of the privilege of smoking, they were 
far happier, had better beds on which to sleep, and 
could get better food at a cheaper rate (out of their 
allowance) than many of them were in the habit of 
getting outside. 

The regret of our friends at parting with us appeared 



SHOCKING OCCURRENCE IN A TRAIN. 71 

to be great, one of them pleasantly observing, " When 
I saw you gentlemen come in, I was in hopes we were 
going to have 3'ou as fellow-lodgers for a time at the 
* Stirling Castle Hotel.' " 

Our trip to the Bridge of Allan v/as productive of 
the greatest benefit to Mr. Dickens's health, and he 
went back to his work on the platform with the old 
verve. 

The business was admirable, and the nightly reception 
by large and demonstrative audiences very cheering 
to Mr. Dickens ; but, although sorry to turn our backs 
on Scotland, we were glad, under the circumstances, to 
be once more journeying towards the south, where the 
climate was less severe. 

Our last Reading in Scotland, for the time being, 
was in Edinburgh, on Saturday afternoon, February 
23rd ; and having to travel to London by the Limited 
Mail the same evening, we had no time for dinner. 
We therefore arranged to take it " on the road." When 
Hearing Preston, Mr. Dickens was entertaining me 
wi.th a song and dance (the drinking song from " Der 
Freischutz "), with glass in hand, when the concussion 
of air, caused by the passing of an express train from the 
opposite direction, whisked a sealskin cap off his head, 
and away it flew into the darkness out of the opposite 
window. Finding himself bareheaded, he immediately 
suspected me of a practical joke ; but seeing me seated 
demurely in the opposite corner of the carriage, his 



72 CHARLES DICKENS. 

surprise was all the greater. The cap being a valuable 
one, its loss was greatly deplored, and it was almost in 
vain that I promised the cap should be restored in the 
following week at Liverpool. Although the night was 
as dark as pitch, I could tell by the running time of 
the train pretty nearly the place where the cap had 
gone astray ; so on arrival at Preston I communicated 
with the station-master, indicating to him the precise 
moment when the cap disappeared, and offering a 
reward to any platelayer or workman on the line who 
should find it, and return it on a certain day. A few 
days after our arrival in Liverpool there came a parcel 
addressed to Mr. Dickens, containing the missing head- 
gear, much to his delight ; but he did not resume the 
interrupted song. 

Our travelling life had become so much a matter of 
system with us, that the routine of it became almost 
monotonous. Day after day we were doing the same 
things at the same time — packing our portmanteaus, 
travelling to a fresh town, unpacking the portmanteaus 
again, attending to preliminary matters of business in 
connection with the Readings, dining, and, after a rest 
for an hour or two, making for the hall, where the 
public sat expectant. But the monotony was a good 
deal relieved by the return of Mr. Wills to the scene 
of action. 

After a call at Bradford and Newcastle-on-Tyne, we 
were bound for a ten davs' trip to Ireland; and Mn 



TO DUBLIN IN A SNOW-STORM. 73 

Wills, wanting a change, and having some business of 
his own to look after in Ireland, enlivened us with his 
company. As if in honour of the event, we had the 
additional excitement of visiting Dublin at a time when 
that city was in a state of semi-siege owing to an anti- 
cipated Fenian rising on St. Patrick's Day; and had it 
not been that the inconvenience and loss would have 
been greater in the postponement of our visit there 
than in carrying out our original designs, the trip 
would have been abandoned entirely, as Mr. Dickens 
was desirous it should be. 

Having overcome his scruples in this respect, we 
started off for Dublin by the night mail on Wednesday 
evening, March 13th, again in the most tempestuous 
of weather. Running along the Chester and Holyhead 
Railway, in the neighbourhood of Bangor, our train 
was blocked up by a snow-drift, making our position 
not only dangerous, but uncomfortable in the extreme. 
We had to sit patiently in our carriage until such time 
as a gang of workmen could clear the road, and dig our 
engine out of the snow, a performance that took some 
four hours; Arriving at Holyhead we were not in 
the humour to take the steamer which was in waiting ; 
for being nearly frozen to death, we allowed th^ furious 
gale from the east to overcome our valour, and make 
us stay at Holyhead until the middle of next day. 
As it turned out, this was the best thing we could have 
done ; for, when we did start, we slipped across with no 



74 CHARLES DICKENS. 

other inconvenience than having to encounter a heavy, 
rolling sea. 

On arriving at Kingstown, we had a taste of the anti- 
cipated rising in Dublin, in the stoppage of some of our 
baggage on the quay there. The police, seeing some 
unusual-looking cases amongst the ordinary luggage of 
passengers, could not imagine that the box containing 
our gas-piping could be anything but fire-arms for the 
use of the Fenians, and insisted, in spite of our protests, 
on having it searched before they allowed the box to be 
put in the train. When nothing but the innocent gas- 
piping was discovered, the breathless bystanders seemed 
quite disappointed. 

When we got to Dublin, we could see that there were 
good grounds for alarm; the whole city being alive 
with constabulary and soldiery, and a visit to our local 
ticket agent on the following morning convinced me 
that for our first Reading certainly our house would 
not be very good; but as St. Patrick's Day would 
intervene between the first and second Reading, it was 
fair to suppose that unless some serious disturbance 
took place on that day, matters would speedily right 
themselves, and that Mr. Dickens's reception would be 
as cordial as it always was in Dublin. 

On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, a dinner party was 
given in Mr. Dickens's honour by an old and intimate 
friend, to which were invited all the luminaries of the 
city, and amongst them many of the official dignitaries 



DUBLIN IN A STATE OF SIEGE. 75 

and several of the highest military authorities, amongst 
whom was a distinguished colonel of Guards, who up 
to that time had made the Fenian organization his 
special study, being reputed to know more about it than 
any one in the service. During the dinner orderlies 
were continually arriving at our host's house with 
despatches, giving such details as could be collected of 
the probable '' rising" that night, and it was clear that 
had any such movement taken place, the authorities 
would have proved fully equal to the occasion. 

As a precautionary measure, the public-houses were 
ordered to be closed from Saturday evening, March 
i6th (St. Patrick's Eve), till the following Tuesday 
morning. The public buildings had strong forces 
within their walls, and the troops were all confined to 
barracks. Notwithstanding all this, the city life went 
on as if no danger were anticipated, and hospitality 
played — as it always does in Dublin — a leading part in 
the affairs of life. 

At dinner, Mr. Dickens expressed a wish to make an 
inspection of the city, and as some of the guests at our 
friend's house had to do the same thing officially, his 
desire was very easily gratified. Returning to our 
hotel for a change of costume, we sallied forth in the 
dead of the night on outside cars, and under police 
care, to make a tour of the city ; and so effectual were 
the precautions taken by the Government, that in a 
drive from midnight until about two o'clock in the 



76 CHARLES DICKENS. 

morning, we did not see more than about half a dozen 
persons in the streets, with the exception of the ordi- 
nary policemen on their beats. Several arrests of 
suspected persons had been made in the night, and 
some of these became our fellow-travellers in the Irish 
mail on our return to England. 

Contrary to our fears, the political disturbances had 
done no harm to Mr. Dickens's reputation in his 
capacity as a reader, for our audiences were quite up 
to the average of our visits to Ireland in quiet times ; 
and what at the outset looked most embarrassing, 
turned out a really enjoyable time, which was rendered 
not the less pleasant by a demonstrative reception in 
Belfast, where no trace of Fenianism could be discovered. 

As the mail boat leaves Kingstown for England at an 
inconveniently early hour in the morning, we decided 
on sleeping on board the steamer, on the night after the 
last Dublin Reading, and, accordingly, we drove down 
to Kingstown for this purpose. 

The intention was good, but the execution was a 
failure, for at about two o'clock in the morning we were 
awakened by the tramping of soldiers on the deck over- 
head, and as the sound was a disconcerting one in such 
a place and at such a time, we went up to see what 
was the matter. There we found a strong escort of 
marines in charge of some of the arrested Fenians of 
the previous week, on their way to England for safer 
custody. 



WE TRAVEL WITH IRISH PATRIOTS. ^^ 

These persons having been carefully stowed away in 
the lower part of the vessel, the marines and the police 
were free to roam about the ship at their will, and 
they created such a disturbance as to prevent anything 
like sleeping in comfort ; so Mr. Dickens and myself 
spent the three or four hours before daybreak in the 
saloon, playing cribbage, after which we started off for 
a walk round the harbour until the time for the sailing 
of the mail boat. 

Arrived at Holyhead, all the passengers were detained 
on the steamer until the Fenians were disposed of in 
the train, and at every stopping-place on the road from 
Holyhead to London there were strong escorts of police. 

At Euston Square we were all locked in our car- 
riages until the cavalcade of mounted police with the 
vans containing the prisoners had left the station, and 
then we were allowed to go our several ways, and 
glad we were to do so after ten days full of adventure, 
and many fears and anxieties as to the result of our 
visit to Ireland in troublesome times. 

The Irish business being over, our long journeys 
ceased with it, leaving only such places as Cambridge, 
Norwich, Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Swan- 
sea, Hereford, Wakefield, Preston, and Blackburn to 
be visited. 

The two last towns being only about twelve miles 
distant, we decided on performing this journey on foot, 
sending the men on alone with our effects. 



78 CHARLES DICKENS. 

There was nothing particular on the road to interest 
us, the route lying almost entirely amongst factories 
and mills ; and it was with no ordinary degree of 
pleasure, when about seven miles on our w^ay, that we 
discovered, high up on elevated ground to our left, 
the picturesque ruins of an old mansion, fast falling 
into decay, but standing out weird and melancholy on 
the summit of the precipice on which it was erected. 
Such a building had always a fascination for Mr. 
Dickens ; and inquiring of a native the name of the 
place, we ascertained that it was called Hoghton Tower. 

Having some knowledge of the history of the place, 
Mr. Dickens decided on making an inspection, if per- 
mission could be obtained. There was no trouble about 
this, for the habitable part of the place was in the occu- 
pation of a farmer, who readily assented to our request. 
We were allowed to roam about the curious old ruin at 
our leisure, much to the gratification of Mr. Dickens, 
who at that time was occupying himself with the con- 
struction of a new story which he had undertaken to 
write for America^. This spot at once suggested to him 
the idea of making Hoghton Tower the scene of the 
tale, then imperfectly fixed in his mind ; and it is here 
that the story entitled " George Silverman's Explana- 
tion " found its local habitation. 

The story took him but a very few days to complete, 
and, when finished, did not exceed in quantity an 
ordinary number of ** All the Year Round." 



SINGULAR CONDUCT OF A TOWN CLERK. 79 

It was originally intended that it should appear in a 
New York periodical, and the price agreed upon was 
one thousand pounds, the largest amount ever paid for 
a story of similar length. 

The fate of ** George Silverman's Explanation '* was 
peculiar. In England it appeared in " All the Year 
Round " in the early part of 1868 ; but its adventures 
in America I shall have to describe in a subsequent 
chapter. 

One of the Lancashire towns had the honour of 
affording Mr. Dickens an unexpected entertainment. 
In choosing places for the Readings, it was my duty to 
write to the town a month or two in advance, to ascer- 
tain if the hall, concert or assembly room, was at liberty 
for the particular evening on which we required it. 

To the town clerk of the community in question, I 
wrote as usual, requesting the use of the Town Hall 
for a Reading by Charles Dickens from his own works. 
I was not a little surprised to receive an official letter 
from that functionary, informing me that ** before the 
use of the Town Hall could be granted, it would be 
necessary to supply him with full particulars of the 
nature of Mr. Dickens's entertainment" 

The request was so unusual, and betrayed such 
extraordinary ignorance in an exalted official, that I 
did not feel equal to the task of satisfying this remark- 
able town clerk's scruples, so I referred the matter to 
Mr. Dickens for precise information on the subject. 



8o CHARLES DICKENS. 

He enjoyed the joke immensely, and greatly relished 
the idea that the Town Hall might be polluted by the 
appearance of a fat woman, or a dwarf, or some other 
monstrosity. However, a serious assurance had to be 
given to the conscientious clerk, so Mr. Dickens dictated 
to me the following note — 

" In acknowledging the receipt of your letter I have 
to inform you that the subject matter of Mr. Dickens*s 
Readings is to be found in a long row of books published 
by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, in Piccadilly, London." 

This reply was deemed satisfactory, and the use of 
the Town Hall being granted on the usual terms and 
conditions, the Reading came off with a result far from 
gratifying. Indeed, it was almost a pity that the town 
clerk's strange inquiry was not accepted at once as 
a criterion of the taste and intelligence of his fellow- 
townsmen. The hall was not full, and the audience 
wholly failed to understand the eccentric patter of 
*' Doctor Marigold," preferring perhaps the talk of a real 
Cheap Jack, who had pitched his cart immediately in 
front of the Town Hall, and who from behind his glare 
of lamps was " convulsing " (to use Doctor Marigold's 
own word) a delighted mob. 

The " Trial from Pickwick," which was the second 
reading, was more successful, but that dull audience 
made such an impression on us that the town was 
always referred to afterwards, with ironical flattery, as 
the most cultivated of its class in the United Kingdom. 




< ^ 



z 5: 



80 



THE CHIEF IS ALWAYS CHEERFUL. 8i 

Everywhere else in Lancashire, Mr. Dickens was 
always enthusiastically received. 

At the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, Mr. Dickens 
always entered on his work with thorough enjoyment; 
and whether he was telling the story of " David Cop- 
perfield" and the "Christmas Carol," or'revelling in the 
boisterous incidents connected with Squeers and John 
Brodie, or reciting the sombre story of *' Little Dom- 
bey," to say nothing of the patter of *' Marigold,*' and 
the humour of the " Trial from Pickwick " and *' Mr. 
Bob Sawyer's Party," he felt that he had his public — 
never less than two thousand persons at a time — 
completely under control, so that the Reading was 
never in any sense a labour. The same may be said 
of Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, 
and Dublin, and in fact all the large towns in England ; 
so that an audience such as that which was inspired 
by the never-to-be-forgotten town clerk was an inex- 
haustible wonder. 

An enterprise involving so much expense made it 
expedient to visit such places as were likely to yield 
a good return, and personal comfort had sometimes 
to be sacrificed. But if circumstances took us into a 
miserable town with a bad hotel, Mr. Dickens invari- 
ably put the best construction on the discomforts he 
had to put up with, and in the most trying situations 
was always more cheerful and good-humoured than any 
public man with whom I have ever been associated. 



82 CHARLES DICKENS. 

There was no difficulty which could not be overcome 
by patience and good temper, of which he had a large 
stock. 

An uncomfortable-looking sitting-room or bed-room 
in an hotel had to be made more comfortable by a 
re-arrangement of the furniture, and this was done 
without the assistance of the hotel servants. A badly- 
prepared dinner or a bad bottle of wine was something 
that had to be endured in the first case, and carefully 
neglected in the latter. A hall that seemed bad for 
sound had (on being tested in the early part of the day 
of reading) to be " cured '* by means the secret of 
which he alone seemed to know. His spirit of cheer- 
fulness was contagious, and every one about him 
worked with a will that made everything run so 
smoothly that persons unaccustomed to our mode of 
life wondered how so much could be done with so 
little apparent labour. 

Nearly every week we were in London for a Reading 
in St. James's Hall, and on the following morning we 
were on our way to some provincial town. The visits 
to London were not visits of pleasure by any means. 
There was a mass of correspondence to be attended to, 
besides the work of '* All the Year Round ; " and in the 
closing weeks of the tour, the idea of visiting America 
was beginning to engross the attention of Mr. Dickens, 
who constantly received letters and offers of engage- 
ment, which were the chief topic of our discussions. 



ENGLAND OR AMERICA? 83 

The financial results of the English Readings were 
so satisfactory, that Mr. Dickens was disposed to 
devote his energies entirely to reading in the autumn 
and winter months ; but whether this time was to be 
spent in England or America was the grave question 
at issue. As so much money was easily obtainable in 
England, the first objection was an obvious one — 
Why go through the wear and tear merely to pluck 
fruit that grows on every bough at home ? 

The scheme was not one that could be disposed of 
hastily, but as it had taken firm hold on Mr. Dickens's 
mind it had to be discussed in all its points. The 
subject had been occupying his attention for the past 
eight years, and he deemed it advisable to settle the 
question one way or another; and, if after mature 
deliberation the visit to America was found to be 
impracticable for this present year, to dismiss the 
matter from his mind for ever. 

As many rumours had got afloat, more especially on 
the other side of the Atlantic, to the effect that Mr. 
Dickens was really going to America this year, he 
wrote to his friend, Mr. James T. Fields, of Boston, 
early in June as follows : — 

** I am trying hard so to free myself as to be able to 
come over to read this next winter ! Whether I may 
succeed in this endeavour or no I cannot yet say, but 
I am trying hard. So in the meantime don't contra- 
dict the rumour. In the course of a few mails I hope 

4 



84 CHARLES DICKENS. 

to be able to give you positive and definite information 
on the subject." 

On the 13th of the same month he v^rote to Mr. 
Fields :— 

*' I have this morning resolved to send out to Boston 
in the first w^eek in August, Mr. Dolby, the secretary 
and manager of my Readings. He is profoundly versed 
in the business of these delightful intellectual feasts (?), 
and will come straight to Ticknor and Fields, and vi^ill 
hold solemn council with them, and will then go to 
New York, Philadelphia, Hartford, Washington, &c., 
and see the rooms for himself and make his estimates. 
He will then telegraph to me, * I see my way to such 
and such results ; shall I go on ? * If I reply, * Yes,* 
I shall stand committed to begin reading in America 
with the month of December. If I reply * No,* it will 
be because I do not clearly see the game to be worth 
so large a candle. In either case he will come back 
to me. . . . 

" We mean to keep all this strictly secret, as I 
beg of you to do, until I finally decide for or against. 
I am beleaguered by every kind of speculator in such 
things on your side of the water ; and it is very likely 
they would take the rooms over our heads — to charge 
us heavily for them — or would set on foot unheard-of 
devices for buying up the tickets, &c., if the probabili- 
ties oozed out. This is exactly how the case stands 
now, and I confide it to you within a couple of hours 



"LET DOLBY GO." 85 

after having so far resolved. Dolby quite understands 
that he is to confide in you similarly, without a particle 
of reserve.'* 

I give these quotations to show the practical cha- 
racter the enterprise had now assumed, and with 
what prudence and care it was proposed to negotiate 
in America. The same care was taken in England in 
sounding the feelings of such friends and counsellors 
as Forster and Wills, who took widely different views 
of the project. But on the question of my going to 
judge for myself they were unanimous. 



BOOK II. 

The American Totir 
(1867-1868). 

CHAPTER IV. 



|URING the period described in the fore- 
going pages, besides looking after the 
interests of Messrs. Chappell so far as 
Mr. Dickens's Readings were concerned, 
I was occupied in several other matters in connection 
with catering for the amusement of the public, and 
was consequently brought into daily intercourse, not 
only with all the great artists — literary, musical, and 
dramatic — but with most of the responsible managers 
and leading speculators from all parts of the world. 
It is not surprising then, under these circumstances, 
that I should meet with proposals respecting Mr. 
Dickens's Readings; but more especially pressing 




MR. FIELDS' INVITATION. 87 

were the invitations from the American managers, 
who, being fully aware of the success of the English 
Readings, were most anxious to **run" Mr. Dickens 
in the States. 

These proposals were from time to time mentioned 
to Mr. Dickens as a matter of form. They were, 
however, not entertained in the slightest degree, until 
the pressure became so great, that discussing the 
subject seriously with Mr. Dickens in a conversation 
held during one of our journeys towards the end of the 
last tour, I discovered that he might be disposed to 
rescind his decision " never again to visit America," 
provided I would take the matter in hand, and upon 
further inquiry and consideration could report that 
there were any reasonable prospects of success. 

I may be allowed to recapitulate here the circum- 
stances, to some extent already made public, which had 
awakened the American expectation that Mr. Dickens 
would revisit the States. Mr. Dickens had, in 1857, 
given Readings of the " Christmas Carol," at St. 
James's Hall, London, and in the Free Trade Hall, 
Manchester, for the benefit of the "Jerrold Fund." 
The fame of these Readings spread everywhere, and 
was so great that Mr. Fields, of Boston, although he 
had never heard him read, sent an agent to England 
to negotiate with Mr. Dickens for a series of Readings 
in America, Mr. Fields being anxious that his country- 
men should participate in an enjoyment of which 



88 CHARLES DICKENS. 

report spoke so favourably. Mr. Fields's deputy was 
cordially received by Mr. Dickens; but after much 
consideration the scheme was deemed impracticable 
and abandoned, at all events for the time being. 
Notwithstanding this, however, proposals were con- 
stantly coming from America, so that, through the 
persistency with which our friends on the other side 
*' kept it up," as the boys say, the subject was ever 
present in Mr. Dickens's mind. Then came pressing 
letters from Mr. Grau, of New York, whose successes 
with Madame Ristori and other great artists in 
America, had rendered him not only a rich, but a 
responsible man. He declared that if Mr. Dickens 
would but give him " one word of encouragement,'* 
he would make a voyage to England for the special 
purpose of making arrangements on most liberal 
terms for a series of Readings in the principal cities 
of America ; and further, that he would deposit in the 
hands of Messrs. Coutts and Co., Mr. Dickens's bankers, 
satisfactory bonds for the faithful execution of any 
agreement he and Mr. Dickens might enter into. 
Further, Fields returned to the charge, and on behalf 
of himself and several gentlemen of private means 
in Boston offered to guarantee ^f 10,000, and bank the 
money in England. But the greatest pressure of all 
came from his desire to do his duty in promoting the 
interests of an already expensive family, and his wish 
to leave them after his death as free as possible from 



THE BELGIAN VOLUNTEERS. 89 

monetary cares — could self-sacrifice have done it, he 
would have left them free from every kind of care. So 
one July morning, during a walk with myself across 
Hyde Park, from the Great Western Station at 
Paddington, to the office, he resolved, that if I would 
make a voyage to America at once, to examine the field 
of operations, he would consider the matter practically. 
At that time, however, I was so busily engaged in 
making arrangements for the reception in England of 
the Belgian volunteers, that it was a matter of impos- 
sibility for me to start at once. It was by no means 
a small or easy task upon which I was then engaged. 
Two thousand of these " brave warriors " had accepted 
the invitation which had been extended to them, while 
the committee entrusted with the charge of enter- 
taining them had overlooked the fact that this 
increase of the British family would have to be pro- 
vided with board and lodging. Banquets, balls, garden 
parties, reviews, parades, had all been provided for ; 
but up to the last moment no thought had been given 
to the more immediate wants and necessities of life or 
comfort, in the shape of bed and breakfast. The use 
of the Wellington Barracks, in St. James's Park (then 
not occupied by the Guards), had been granted by the 
War Office. Lodging would thus have been fully 
provided for all the men — or such of them as had no 
personal friends in London to whom they could go — 
but for the fact, that within the barracks there was 



90 CHARLES DICKENS. 

not an article of furniture left (except a few iron bed- 
steads), and no cooking appliances save the stoves 
and grates. The War Office, however, endeavoured 
partially to meet this difficulty by offering the com- 
mittee as much bed-ticking, ready made up for stuffing, 
as they might require. This idea of ** stuffing " beds 
so overcame the committee — two thousand to provide 
for and nothing but "ticks"! each to be "stuffed," 
singly and separately ; no blankets, no bolsters, and no 
sheets, to say nothing of victuals ! — that they declined 
the generous offer ; and looking round for a man upon 
whom they could throw the whole responsibility of 
housing and breakfasting the invited, they selected 
me only three days before the guests were due. So 
far as actual arrangements were concerned, however, 
a couple of days sufficed for my purpose, after which 
I was despatched to Antwerp. With me I had a staff 
of clerks travelling in saloon carriages on each side 
of the Channel, to make out billets en route and 
distribute them to the men on their arrival in the 
troopship SerapiSf which had been placed at the 
disposal of the committee by the Admiralty, at 
Gravesend. Before leaving Antwerp an unforeseen 
difficulty arose. The Belgian Commander-in-Chief, 
Colonel Gregoire, and his staff were mislaid. He had 
been seen in Antwerp early on the morning of depar- 
ture galloping hither and thither, backwards and 
forwards, apparently without any fixed intent ; but 



THEIR RUFFIANLY CONDUCT. 91 

when the moment for embarkation arrived, the staff, 
commander and all, were missing; and as an army 
becomes a disorderly mob without a commander, 
so the noble Belgians behaved themselves in the 
most ruffianly manner on board the Serapis, The 
Admiralty had provided a plentiful supply of excellent 
provisions, yet it might have been supposed that we 
wanted to starve these warriors, who acted more like 
savages than trained and disciplined men. When the 
dinner hour was announced a general stampede took 
place, and in less than five minutes not a vestige of 
food was to be found on the tables. Men were seen 
seated on the floor gnawing at legs of mutton, roast 
or boiled; ducks and fowls were devoured without 
knife or fork touching them ; " sea-pies " were clawed 
and mawled to pieces, and the fragments were thrown 
out of the port-holes— dishes, spoons, knives, forks, 
and all. The whole scene was like a bear-pit, and 
it was a matter of regret to every one, except the 
volunteers themselves, that the sea was too calm to 
punish the stomachs of the voyageurs. Nor was the 
scene less disgraceful as night closed in. The blankets 
v^hich the Admiralty with a great deal of forethought 
had served in abundance were, on being distributed, 
almost torn to pieces by the men, who by this time 
had begun to feel the effects of the English beer which 
had been but too generously supplied to them ; and 
so, as midnight approached, they sank down one by 



92 CHARLES DICKENS. 

one, and lay, like heroes, ** where they fell," breaking 
the stillness of the night with the grunts and mut- 
terings of nightmare. Wrapped in their blankets, with 
their faces made ghastly by the light of a pale summer 
moon, they looked like corpses, each wrapped in its 
own winding sheet. 

When we arrived at Gravesend, at the invitation of 
the commander, Captain Soady, I remained on the 
ship to luncheon ; but such had been the orgies of the 
distinguished foreigners, that it was with difficulty that 
sufficient food could be collected to make a meal for the 
captain and his officers and guests. 

At Gravesend the visitors were received by the 
committee, and the Lord Mayor and Corporation of 
London, and a complete flotilla of penny steamboats. 
Here, despite the precautions to ensure order, the 
committee and corporation got mixed, and the wrong 
volunteers got into the wrong steamer — those who were 
billeted in the neighbourhood of Westminster Bridge 
being landed at London Bridge, and those who ought 
to have been landed at Blackfriars, in the neighbour- 
hood of De Keyser's Hotel, were taken on to Battersea 
and Cremorne ; the result being scenes of indescrib- 
able confusion, and an amount of bewilderment to the 
foreigners such as they will never forget. 

These incidents, which have little or nothing to do 
with the subject matter of this book, would not have 
been mentioned here but for the purpose of showing 



THE MANAGER'S INSTRUCTIONS. 93 

under what pressure I was labouring in one quarter 
alone at the time Mr. Dickens desired me to depart, 
and how impossible it was for me to leave England 
immediately to "prospect" for the tour in America. 

Arrangements were however made for my departure 
for Boston on the 3rd of August, in the Cunard 
steamer Java, then under the command of Captain 
Moodie, one of my dearest and most valued friends, 
who died, at his house in Birkenhead, in the summer 
of 1881, regretted, beloved, and respected by all who 
knew him. 

It may be as well to state that my instructions were 
simply to judge for myself as to the adaptability of the 
halls in the States for reading purposes, and, if pos- 
sible, to ascertain, from observations on the spot, to 
what extent the Readings were likely to be a success. 
There was no anxiety whatever about public feeling in 
America, and the "American Notes" and "Martin 
Chuzzlewit " had no more to do with Mr. Dickens's 
calculations than if they had never been written. The 
visit to America, or a decision to remain in England 
for another tour, which had been already planned, 
depended solely upon the report I might make. For 
as the Presidential Election would take place in the 
autumn of the following year, it was deemed advisable 
that if the enterprise were to be undertaken, it should 
be in the coming winter, or not at all ; but so much had 
been said and written to Mr. Dickens on the subject. 



94 CHARLES DICKENS. 

that he had determined on settling the question of his 
going or not for himself, and the only way to settle it, 
to his mind, was to adopt the course he pursued ; 
resolving, as he did so, that, in the event of the report 
being satisfactory, he would not accept any of the 
tempting offers then before him, but go on his own 
account, thus leaving himself unfettered and untram- 
melled by any consideration other than his own 
convenience. 

Up to this time I had never visited America, and, 
although glad of the opportunity of so doing, especially 
under such conditions, the responsibility of the position 
was so great, that, what otherwise might have been 
regarded as a pleasure trip, became a matter of great 
anxiety. This anxiety was, however, to a certain extent, 
dispelled by the kindness of the passengers in the ^ava, 

Mr. Dickens, always thoughtful and considerate, 
determined to accompany me as far as Liverpool, and 
so great was his anxiety for my personal comfort and 
safety, and his curiosity as to the class of vessels then 
crossing the Atlantic, that he had, immediately we ar- 
rived in Liverpool the day before sailing, an irresistible 
desire to see the Java, This being impracticable at 
the time, as the vessel was lying in the Sloyne, some 
two miles above Liverpool, an excursion was made to 
the Canada Dock, on the chance of there being some 
** Cunarders " lying there ; and, although he was very 
ill at the time, suffering from erysipelas in the foot, he 



THE MANAGER'S DEPARTURE. 95 

insisted on carrying out his idea in order to satisfy his 
mind that everything was likely to be all right. He 
had crossed the Atlantic in the Cunard sailing vessel 
Britannia^ then commanded by Captain Hewett, twenty- 
five years previously, and he might have been a little 
curious to see how far the company had improved their 
vessels, and what effect a screw steamer would have on 
him if he decided on crossing. 

The following morning he accompanied me on board 
the steamer, and the interest he took in all the details 
of the departure was most amusing. He examined 
everything, even to the little bunk in the state-room, as 
if it had been a bed at Gad's Hill, to see that it was 
comfortable. 

It was the season of the year when Americans return 
home after their European tours, and the Java had a 
full complement of passengers. As the greater portion 
of them were Bostonians, Mr. Dickens was speedily 
recognized ; and his lameness, which caused him to 
walk with a stick, having attracted attention, many 
were the offers, during the short trip to the Sloyne on 
the tug, of a deck chair, or a seat relinquished by 
ladies, for his convenience. There was a hope amongst 
the passengers that Mr. Dickens would cross the 
Atlantic with them, and great was the disappointment 
when it was found such was not to be the case, for the 
Boston people dearly loved him, and seemed to regard 
him as a part of themselves. The moment of departure 



96 CHARLES DICKENS. 

arrived, and after a most affectionate leave-taking 
between Mr. Dickens and myself, with a repetition of 
the sole instruction I had for the journey embraced in 
three words — ''judge for yourself" — there came a 
general shaking of hands between him and my fellow- 
passengers ; and, with the heartfelt wishes of all for his 
speedy recovery from his lameness, the tug bore him 
away back to Liverpool, leaving me, for the first time 
in my experience, to my meditations on an Atlantic 
steamer — outward bound ; a loneliness which, however, 
I was not suffered long to feel. 

That they had seen Mr. Dickens himself on the 
steamer was to the minds of the passengers conclusive 
evidence that he would read in America ; and in their 
anxiety to do him honour, they vied one with another, 
in the cheeriest manner, in making the voyage as 
pleasant as possible to his representative ; and upon 
this voyage I formed .many friendships among our 
" cousins," which still exist in all their cordiality. 

On the tenth day from Liverpool (August 13th) at 
about 6 A.M., we steamed into the harbour of Halifax, 
in Nova Scotia. 

The firing of the saluting cannon and the stopping 
of the screw caused everybody to get up to take a 
glimpse of terra firman and very well worth the trouble 
of an early rise it was. It took a good hour to get the 
ship up to her wharf — where a curious medley of 
persons had congregated. The Java was a day over- 



HALIFAX. 97 

due, having encountered some westerly gales in the 
latter part of the voyage to Halifax, and the signal 
gun had awakened the population of the little place. 
As we neared the wharf, English military officers in 
undress uniforms, and naval officers belonging to our 
own navy, were mingling with several officers belonging 
to a Russian monitor, which had encountered a gale 
of wind in the Bay of Fundy, on its way from Boston 
to some port in the Black Sea. This ironclad, which 
on the termination of the war had been sold to the 
Russians by the American Government, was as ugly 
a looking craft as it is possible to conceive, and had 
behaved so badly, nearly foundering in the bay, and 
knocking some of her men senseless with fright because 
they had to live below in perpetual darkness, that her 
commander had refused to take her any farther, and 
was now standing on the quay. Here, too, were lands- 
men of every kind and description, from officials in 
the employ of Mr. William Cunard — then representing 
the Cunard Company in Halifax — down to negroes and 
negresses. 

The heat was tropical, and though it had not in- 
convenienced us at sea, when the steamer stopped it 
became painful, even at that early hour of the morn- 
ing. Everybody wore white trousers (even the English 
General in command of the troops stationed there, who 
had honoured the arrival of the Java with his pre- 
sence), and those who were not in naval or military 



98 CHARLES DICKENS. 

uniform also wore white Panama hats and white 
cotton suits, the whole forming a coup d'ceil of the most 
picturesque description. 

The mail cart, with sluggish-looking mules harnessed 
to it, was there to receive the mail bags. The mail 
agent, who all the voyage had been engaged with his 
assistant in sorting the letters, went ashore in his best 
uniform, and, taking a carriage, followed the mail cart 
at a short distance to the Post Office. The mails 
being landed, and the mail agent having been got rid 
of, the passengers who wished so to do were allowed 
to go ashore, and the shore people allowed to board the 
ship to see the remainder of the passengers from 
England take an early breakfast in the saloon — a 
privilege they availed themselves of very freely ; for in 
those days (and that seventeen years ago) only one 
" Cunarder " a fortnight went into Halifax (though 
none go there now), and whether she arrived there in 
the early morning or late at night there was always 
the same public interest. The business of the ship — 
unloading cargo, taking in fresh provisions, fruit, 
butter, &c., for the remaining two days of the voyage 
to Boston — demanded a stay at Halifax of some six 
or seven hours, during which time nearly all the 
passengers went ashore; and very extraordinary and" 
amusing were the sights that presented themselves. 
High change was being held in the market-place, and 
evidently there had been not only a great fruit season 



FRUIT AND LOBSTERS. 99 

in Nova Scotia, but a most extraordinary " take " of 
lobsters as well. All the merchants seemed (when not 
smoking, chewing, or spitting) to be eating raspberries, 
strawberries, melons, peaches, or lobsters. Peaches 
were selling at 10 cents (5d.) a bushel, and other fruits 
at a proportionately low rate. Lobsters — large ones — 
were 5 cents (2jd.) each, or 60 cents (2s. 6d.) for a 
wheelbarrow full. Nobody seemed to eat anything but 
the claws of the crustaceans, for the bodies were lying 
about in all directions ; everybody was eating some- 
thing and throwing something else away, while the 
debris of peach stones, lobster bodies, claw shells, and 
melon rinds was far from improving either to the boots 
or dresses of the elegantly-attired lady passengers of 
the Java, 

Amongst the passengers on the ship were two Nova 
Scotians with their families (one of whom was an 
alderman, and the other a town councillor — most 
agreeable companions and excellent men), who, 
neglecting their own private affairs for some little time 
after their arrival, did the honours of Halifax to a 
select few of the new acquaintances they had made 
upon the voyage, and showed them all that there was 
to be seen in the place, which, however, did not amount 
to very much ; but, as I had the privilege of being 
included among the select, I can only pay tribute 
to the intention with which the hospitality of the 
place was offered — a hospitality which doubtless would 



lOO CHARLES DICKENS. 

have been very acceptable to every one had there been 
more time to enjoy it, but, as ** time and tide wait for 
no man," a return to the ship and an early lunch were 
indispensable (except fruit and lobsters there seemed 
to be no available food in Halifax, and not even a good 
hotel). Aboard the Java, a deputation of such of the 
municipality as could be got together awaited me, 
their object being to request that, in the event of Mr. 
Dickens visiting America, he would break his voyage 
at Halifax and give a Reading there. Money was no 
object, and if I would but give a promise that their 
wishes in this respect should be fulfilled, they would 
" plank " any sum that I might name before the Java 
left the port, or, if preferred, lodge it in the hands of 
Mr. William Cunard. Thanking the deputation and 
my friends, the alderman and councillor, for their 
good intentions, I told them that, in the then uncertain 
state of affairs, it was impossible for me to give any 
promise; and so, after several bottles of champagne 
had been disposed of, and a great deal of handshaking 
and " God-speeding " had been got through, the depu- 
tation withdrew, and the Java pursued her headlong 
course through the Bay of Fundy to the " Hub of the 
Universe" — as Boston is familiarly called. I may 
here remark that the Russian Admiral had not nearly 
"worn out the gale," but had left behind him a much 
larger quantity for the Java passengers than they 
expected or desired. 



THE BOSTON PILOT. loi 

The good ship was first-rate at rolling on the Atlantic 
in a gale, but she went through entirely new motions 
and gambols in the Bay of Fundy, rendering the 14th 
August, 1867, a remarkably disagreeable day to all, but 
notably so to the ladies. The next day, however (the 
day of arrival in Boston), was all that could be wished, 
or would have been so, perhaps, had the mercury 
in the thermometer been a trifle lower, for when the 
steamer *' lay to " some hours before reaching Boston 
to receive the pilot, the heat had become almost in- 
tolerable. 

This shipping of the pilot caused great excite- 
ment. Immediately the pilot-boat was sighted some 
miles ahead bets were offered and taken as to her 
number, whether the pilot would put his left or his 
right foot first on the deck, and whether he would 
wear a tall hat, or a black satin waistcoat, or both, or 
neither. Such bets were not "square," as in those 
days the pilots always wore the articles of costume 
mentioned. Then the pilot-boat came up, the pilot 
stepped on board (looking pretty much like an 
undertaker), walked straight up to the bridge without 
even saying " good morning " to the officers awaiting 
to receive him on the gangway, but paying Captain 
Moodie the compliment of saluting him; and when he 
reached the bridge proceeded straight to business, 
which was to take the ship to her wharf at East 
Boston. The solemnity with which he conducted this 



I02 CHARLES DICKENS. 

part of the task had something very comical about it. 
The ship had been under weigh again but a few 
moments when the pilot seemed to have forgotten 
something, and, hailing a passenger with a familiar 
" Say ! " felt in his pockets and produced a huge 
bundle of the latest Boston and New York papers, 
which he threw carelessly amongst a group of pas- 
sengers to be scrambled for — producing an effect more 
resembling a " scrap " in a game of football than the 
action of a lot of sober citizens returning to their 
homes after the holidays. But of this the pilot took 
not the slightest notice. 

On this day at noon the Java was on her best 
behaviour, and so she ought to have been, for she was 
dressed in her best bunting. She steamed grandly 
into the Bay of Boston, and for the first time I saw 
the American flag in its native air, beautiful in its sim- 
plicity, floating proudly over a fort. Delightful as the 
voyage had been, with every augury of success before 
me in the kindness displayed by my fellow-passengers, 
the moment had arrived for immediate action, and 
there before me lay the mother city, as it were, of 
future success or failure, and I had determined it 
should be one or other entirely. 

The greater number of the passengers were busy with 
their own affairs in preparing to leave the ship, pack- 
ing up their state-room boxes, travelling bags, and 
valises, paying wine bills (on that voyage some of them 



"WHICH IS DOLBY?" 103 

were of rather inordinate amounts), giving gratuities to 
state-room and saloon stewards, and putting on " shore 
clothes " to meet the friends awaiting them upon the 
wharf. While this was going on I was left compara- 
tively to myself, feeling almost a stranger in a strange 
land, leaning over the rail on the lower bridge, thinking 
of home and the dear ones there, and of the man}' 
kind friends left behind ; speculating, too, on the 
chances of success in the great task before me, and 
gazing all the while on the flag, be it confessed, with 
a lump in my throat. These and other thoughts were 
crowding through my brain, when suddenly the ship's 
cannon was discharged as a salutation to the flag at 
which I had been so intently gazing, a discharge that 
was fired from a port-hole immediately underneath ths 
point where I was standing ! My first idea was that 
I had suddenly become a nonentity, and next that 
America, or certainly that part of it known as Boston 
Harbour, had exploded and " gone up ; " both ideas, 
however, were dispelled by the cheery voices of the 
doctor and purser who were standing by, and the 
inquiry of, '* How's that, Dolby ? " — a question which 
I was totally unable to answer (not so much as know- 
ing at first what it was) until the doctor had taken me 
below and administered a dose of brandy *' cocktail." 
Going on deck again, there was more excitement, for 
the Custom House tender was coming alongside with 
Judge Russell and his staff of officers, some of whom 



104 CHARLES DICKENS. 

became intimate friends of both Mr. Dickens and my- 
self during the Boston campaign undertaken later on. 
These gentlemen were received by their friends on board 
in a cordial manner, and their first inquiry was, ** Which 
is Dolby?" "Dolby" was not difficult to find, and 
having been formally introduced by a fellow-passenger 
(Mr. Howse, of Boston), an adjournment was made to 
the saloon, where a welcome to America was tendered 
in their own names and that of the Boston citizens and 
my fellow-passengers on the voyage. A message was 
moreover sent to me from Mr. Fields and his firm to 
the effect that they were waiting for me on the wharf 
to give me — as the representative of my chief — a fitting 
welcome; and Judge Russell further intimated that the 
hospitality of the Customs Department allowed my 
baggage to pass without examination, a privilege that 
many of the passengers on board doubtless wished had 
been extended to them, as, at that time, the duties on 
foreign goods were almost prohibitive, and the well- 
stocked trunks with Parisian and London novelties in 
articles of dress and jewellery were a source of many 
a pang to the heart and spasm to the pocket of 
the generous paterfamilias, or loving and confiding 
husband, who seemed to think, when he got into the 
clutches of the Custom House officers in his native 
land, that coming home after a pleasant voyage was 
not so funny after all. 

Much correspondence had taken place between Mr. 



ARRIVAL AT BOSTON. 105 

Dickens and Mr. Fields on the subject of the Readings 
in America, as has been already mentioned ; and, al- 
though I had never before seen Mr. Fields or any of 
the partners of his firm, the letter of introduction sent 
to that gentleman by post the week prior to the sailing 
of the Java announcing my coming, was of such a 
character as to prevent any constraint or raise any 
doubts as to the nature of my reception ; and the 
kindly greetings on the steamer, while yet some dis- 
tance from the landing-place, justified me in my anti- 
cipations. 

As the steamer neared the wharf I could not help 
speculating and conjecturing in my own mind as to 
which among all the crowd of well-dressed people as- 
sembled there was Fields. Everybody on shore and 
on the steamer seemed to be waving handkerchiefs, 
and I settled it in my own mind that those who were 
not waving handkerchiefs would be the representatives 
of the firm of Ticknor and Fields, arguing, at the same 
time, that the fact of my not waving a handkerchief 
would point out to the firm that I was the Dolby 
they were expecting — forgetting entirely that the firm 
had other friends in the steamer than myself who were 
more worthy, in their estimation, of the white cambric 
salute than I might be. 

All was confusion on the shore. People were rushing 
about ; some shouting themselves hoarse in the vain 
endeavour to send a message to the ship in the form of 



io6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the ridiculous inquiry whether " so-and-so " had been 
sea-sick ; others asking whether ** so-and-so '* had 
been seen in Paris or Rome ; in fact, all sorts of ques- 
tions hurtled through the air that might have been kept 
for a more convenient time, and certainly until the 
Java had made up her mind to behave herself, 
either by being obedient to her commander in going 
where he wanted her to go, or by not making such a 
bellowing with her steam-pipe as to prevent the people 
on shore and the passengers on the ship from hearing 
anybody say anything. 

In all this confusion and noise it was impossible to 
make out anything, and it was only after a lot of 
tugging and hauling, and a lot of nautical shouting 
and apostrophizing, that the Java was brought along- 
side and made fast to the wharf. Then I was brought 
face to face with my new friends, James T. Fields, 
Howard Ticknor, and James R. Osgood, who repre- 
sented the firm, and who did their best by their kindly 
welcome to make me feel at home. 

All preliminaries having been got through agreeably 
and satisfactorily, there came many injunctions from 
my late fellow-passengers to the firm to use their 
best endeavours to ** get Dolby to induce Dickens to 
come out,'" injunctions that were quite unnecessary to 
them, for they had been working on the idea for several 
months previously, being most desirous to have Mr. 
Dickens once more amongst them, for his presence in 



A BOSTON DINNER. 107 

America was calculated to give an additional value 
to his works, the only authorized American edition of 
which was published by Messrs. Ticknor and Fields. 
Moreover, there was a faint hope that his visit might 
lead to the much-desired International Copyright Act. 

Arrived at the Parker House Hotel I prepared for an 
early dinner at which I was to present my credentials, 
and at the same time to hand over the MS. of a new 
story, the " Holiday Romance," which Mr. Dickens had 
written for Messrs. Ticknor and Fields. 

It is needless to say that the dinner was a most 
enjoyable one, not only on account of the cordiality of 
my hosts, but also on account of the novelty of the 
dishes. ** Gumbo " soup, " sheep's head," fish, stewed 
terrapin, "grass" birds, "Reed" birds and "peeps," 
yams, sweet potatoes, and " green corn " — the latter a 
most delicious vegetable which I soon learned to gnaw 
off the " cob." 

At this dinner the future plan of action was decided 
upon, and as I was consigned to the firm, I had no 
hesitation in accepting the proffered services of Mr. 
James R. Osgood as travelling companion, on the tour 
of inspection I had undertaken. 

This arrangement was an inestimable advantage to 
me, inasmuch as Mr. Osgood was, and is, one of the 
most popular men in America. It was decided that 
the remainder of the week should be devoted to resting 
after the voyage, and only such operations should be 



lo8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

carried on as involved sight-seeing and making the ac- 
quaintance of the many distinguished literary men and 
artists of Boston. Most of them v^ere absent, however, at 
their various places of resort during the holiday season. 
Fields himself v^as supposed to be in New Hampshire ; 
Professor Longfellow was at his beautiful retreat at 
Nantucket ; Professor Agassiz was somewhere, nobody 
knew where, but wherever he was everybody supposed 
he was pursuing some scientific research for the benefit 
of his fellow-man. Mr. James Russell Lowell was 
somewhere in Europe, and other notabilities were ** some- 
where else ; " so that the literary family of Boston, so 
far as the celebrities were concerned, was considerably 
dispersed; still there were left behind such worthy 
representatives as Mr. Emerson, and the no less worthy 
and distinguished Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, to 
both of whom I speedily had the pleasure of an in- 
troduction. There were lesser planets, also in Boston, 
ready and willing to contribute to my personal enjoy- 
ment, amongst whom may be mentioned Donald 
Mitchell ("Ike Marvel "), Mr. Aldrich, the " Bad Boy," 
and author of several most charming poems, and Henry 
Clapp, the man who said the funniest things imaginable 
(for which Artemus Ward got the credit). 

To judge by the expressed opinion of these men of 
experience, there was no need to have any doubt, cer- 
tainly so far as Boston was concerned, as to the success 
of the Readings ; and the only thing to be done there 



THE TREMONT TEMPLE. 109 

was to find a suitable hall or theatre in which to give 
them. 

Accordingly the various halls and theatres had to be 
inspected ; the first to engage our attention being called 
the ** Music Hall," in which is erected the finest and 
largest organ — next, perhaps, to the one at Haarlem — 
in the world. This hall is a magnificent one, but much 
too large for Reading purposes, albeit for musical 
entertainments it is perfection. The Boston Theatre 
was next visited, and the same drawbacks, only in an 
exaggerated form, presented themselves ; for Drury 
Lane or Covent Garden Theatre in London could 
easily be placed inside of this one, and with space 
enough left to admit of a good-sized audience as well. 
As far as the principal theatre and the principal hall 
were concerned there was nothing to be done but give 
them up as being unsuitable for the purpose, or take 
them and ruin the enterprise by reducing the number 
of Readings in Boston, each of which would be given 
at a disadvantage. 

There was another hall capable of holding a large 
number of people, but everybody said it was old- 
fashioned — that nobody would go to it since the Music 
Hall had been built, and everybody doubted if Boston 
could be induced to go to it even to hear Charles 
Dickens. This hall had to be seen, however, and it 
was seen ; and, in my estimation, possessed all the 
requisites necessary for the success of the business in 



no CHARLES DICKENS. 

hand. It was called the Tremont Temple; it held 
over two thousand people, and the seats were so 
arranged, on a gradually rising floor, that every one in 
the house had a good view of the platform, and would 
be able not only to hear distinctly, but also to enjoy all 
the facial effects of the reader, without which Mr. 
Dickens's Readings would lose so much. Fashion 
then had to be sacrificed, for I at once decided that 
no other place in Boston than the Tremont Temple 
would suit the purpose; a decision that did not turn 
out very erratic, when it is considered that twenty 
Readings in all were given in this hall within five 
months, with an average receipt of $3,000 each Reading. 

The Globe Theatre, then in course of construction, 
was one of the handsomest and most elegant theatres 
in the world. There was always a good stock company 
there, and when Mr. Dickens could get an evening to 
himself in Boston it was his habit to spend it in this 
theatre. In the great Boston fire of 1872 this charming 
theatre was destroyed, but it has since been rebuilt in, 
if possible, a more costly and more lavish style than 
before its destruction. 

Boston being disposed of for the present — so far as 
the purpose of my visit was concerned — arrangements 
were made for "the road;" and in a few days Mr. 
Osgood and myself were on the " tramp," but not 
before Boston had endeared itself to me so much as to 
cause me ever after to look upon it as my American 



NANTUCKET. in 

home ; and to the present day I regard it as such, not- 
withstanding that many dear and valued friends have 
" gone over to the majority " since I was last there. 

Before starting on the journey I had one pleasure, 
without which a visit to Boston would indeed have 
been incomplete. I went to Nantucket to see Long- 
fellow. He was not in good health at the time, and a 
letter had been received from him, expressing his regret 
at " not being able to travel to Boston to pay his 
respects to Dickens through his representative." Ac- 
cordingly, on a bright summer's day, I repaired to his 
house in company with Messrs. Fields and Osgood. 
This was the first railway journey I had taken in the 
States. I must confess that the travelling did not 
strike me as being very comfortable. In those days 
there was but one class and fare, everybody paying at 
the same rate. The Pullman system had not then been 
brought to its present state of perfection, at least for the 
short routes. At this time all classes travelled together 
in a long car, built to carry fifty-two passengers : there 
were thirteen seats on each side (with reversible backs 
to seat two persons each ; and a broad passage-way 
ran up the centre to a door at each end, giving the 
traveller an opportunity of walking the whole length 
of the train. At each end of the car was a stove, kept 
almost at a red heat during the winter months ; on the 
opposite side to the stove was a tank of iced water, a 
great luxury in hot weather ; for the dust at that time 



112 CHARLES DICKENS. 

is terribly troublesome, as it comes in in clouds with the 
restlessly peripatetic dealers in newspapers, books, 
pamphlets, ivory pincushions, " pop corn,'* who give 
the traveller really no peace of mind on his journey, and 
make him long for its termination. 

Nantucket is a beautiful spot, and the position of 
Mr. Longfellow's place was worthy of its owner. The 
house (standing in its own grounds, which sloped 
gradually to the sea) is built somewhat in the Swiss 
style — and covered with Virginia creeper and wistaria — 
having verandah and balconies all around it over- 
looking the sea, on which Miss Longfellow's boat was 
riding jauntily, ready to convey its owner on an ex- 
cursion. On the arrival of the carriage at the house, 
the party were received by Mr. Longfellow and his 
daughter; the dear old poet, bareheaded and looking 
like a veritable patriarch with his beautiful long white 
hair streaming in the balmy afternoon breeze. After a 
hearty welcome from himself and his daughter, we took 
a walk round the grounds, and then a repast at which 
was served some of the much-coveted *' soft-shell crab'* 
then in perfection. 

The interest taken by Mr. Longfellow in the idea 
that Mr. Dickens would read in America gave every 
one sincere pleasure. I had to answer questions as to 
every detail of Mr. Dickens*s health, whether his mode 
of life was at all altered since Mr. Longfellow visited 
Gad's Hill, and all sorts of inquiries about Miss 




JAMES R. OSGOOD. 



THE LITERARY SHOP-BOY. 113 

Dickens and Miss Hogarth, and every member of the 
family, the servants, and even the horses, dogs, and 
birds. Before leaving, I had charge of all kinds of 
affectionate messages to my chief, added to the 
strictest injunctions and warnings as to the inadvisa- 
bility of my ever showing my face again in Boston, at 
any future time after my return to England, except to 
announce that Dickens was coming over. 

Mr. Longfellow has been so often described, and his 
portrait is so familiar to the public all over the civilized 
world, that any lengthened description of him is quite 
unnecessary. Suffice it to say that in appearance he 
was as unlike a poet, or the accepted ideal of what a 
poet should be like, as man could possibly be. Speak- 
ing of this on the return journey, Fields told a story 
which will bear repeating here. Ticknor and Fields 
had engaged the services of a new shop-boy, a regular 
New England lad. On one occasion, when the other 
members of the establishment being away at their 
midday meal, this lad was left in charge of the store, 
a white-haired gentleman entered and inquired, *' Is 
Mr. Fields within ? '* ** Guess he ain't," replied the 
boy, without looking up from the book which he was 
reading. The gentleman modestly inquired if the boy 
could give him any idea when *' Mr. Fields was likely 
to be in." As the boy *' guessed he couldn't," and 
manifested symptoms of impatience at being disturbed in 
his reading, the gentleman requesting the boy to "kindly 



114 CHARLES DICKENS. 

give that to Mr. Fields on his return," handed him a 
card. The boy stared at the card with the utmost 
indifference for a moment, but when his retina had 
clearly defined the words upon the card, ** Professor 
Longfellow," he jumped off his office-stool, and, staring 
hard at the owner of the card, said : *' Say, old man ! 
do you mean to say you are really Longfellow ? " 
Mr. Longfellow assured him that such was the fact; 
the boy replied, in a half-soliloquy, " Wall ! I wouldn't 
have thought it ! " adding in louder tones, " Now, how 
old was you when you wrote * Evangeline' ? that's what 
I want to know." Having been satisfied on this point, 
he proceeded with his reading, leaving the visitor, more 
amused than angry, to find the way out of the store as 
best he could. 

Having enjoyed the rest in Boston, Mr. Osgood and 
I started on our tour. The places to be visited included 
New York and intervening cities, as far south as Wash- 
ington ; but as the war had terminated not long before, 
and matters financially were in a very troubled state, 
the people were indisposed to patronize amusements, 
so we decided that it would be useless to go further 
south. To the westward we were to go as far as 
Chicago, if necessary calling at the intermediate cities, 
and arrangements were made to visit the smaller cities 
in the New England States. 

After many adieux of the friendliest kind — generally 
taking the form of ** Good-bye, old man ; come back 



A FLOATING PALACE. 115 

soon, and bring Dickens with you ! " — we travelled as 
far as New York, on the ** Bristol Route," the plea- 
santest of journeys in summer, for only some three or 
four hours were spent in the train, the rest in one of 
those extraordinary floating palaces of steamboats. 
The steamer that conveyed us from the railway station, 
or '' depot," at Bristol (Mass.), was an enormous "three 
decker,*' looking like a private hotel on a large scale. 
The main deck resembled a noble entrance-hall to a 
house, and was well carpeted with a thick velvet-pile 
carpet. Round this hall, and approached by a wide 
staircase — also carpeted, and having massive walnut 
wood banisters and balustrades — ran balconies. From 
these balconies passages led to the state-rooms, which 
were furnished in the most elegant style, some of them 
even having great " four posters " of carved oak. Then 
there were other balconies outside the vessel, where 
again were other state-rooms, most comfortable in hot 
weather. 

Below were hot and cold baths, barbers* shops, cigar 
and newspaper stands, book-stalls, and hosiery estab- 
lishments. 

The saloons and retiring-rooms — not forgetting the 
drinking bars, where everything, from a bottle of 
champagne to a cocktail and ** eye opener," could be 
obtained — were all fitted in a costly manner ; while the 
restaurant department would have done credit to the 
largest hotel on shore. The inevitable nigger, too, in 

5 



ii6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the white cotton suit, making the most attentive and 
amusing of waiters. 

A walk on deck, in the enjoyment of a cigar after 
supper, the liveliest of compagnons de voyage^ and some- 
times songs, glees, and madrigals, filled up the time 
until the hour for " turning in " arrived. There is 
a very mixed class, though, on these steamers, and 
with all the vigilance of the detectives, who are con- 
stantly travelling to and fro, robberies do sometimes 
occur. It is imprudent to go to sleep without first 
making the door of the state-room safe. If this pre- 
caution be not taken, especially in the outside rooms — 
one of which Mr. Osgood and I conjointly occupied — 
the passenger must not be astonished if, on dressing in 
the morning, he finds that some ingenious hotel or 
steamboat thief ^^has gone through his pockets. ^^ This 
very nearly happened to us, for on nearing New York, 
at an early hour in the morning, I awoke, with an 
impression strong upon me, that some one was trying 
to push down the little green jalousie blind in front of 
the state-room window, which we had left open during 
the hot summer's night. Silent observation soon 
showed that my impression was not ill-founded ; so, 
reaching out for a bundle of sticks and umbrellas, and 
placing them, as noiselessly as possible, within reach, 
I feigned to be asleep, and waited patiently until Mr. 
Hotel Sneak should have succeeded in letting down the 
blind. This he soon accomplished, and a long arm 



FIRST GLIMPSE OF NEW YORK. 117 

appeared, feeling at the sides of the room where the 
clothes were supposed to be hanging up. A smart rap 
with the umbrellas and sticks, over the intrusive wrist, 
and a howl of pain and disappointment from the out- 
side, had the effect of awakening Mr. Osgood from his 
slumbers ; but he, on being informed as to the cause of 
the noise, merely remarked, *' Oh, it's only a watch 
collector ! " and proceeded to finish his night's rest. 
As it was then about six in the morning, I took advan- 
tage of the " early call " — so unceremoniously given — 
to get up, take a walk on deck, and catch my first 
glimpse of New York City, and its beautiful harbour, of 
which I had heard so much. The sun was shining 
brilliantly, and, as it was Sunday, the ships at the 
wharves were displaying their best bunting, in honour 
of the day. What a sight the city presents under these 
circumstances ! Flags of every nationality, streaming 
out in bold relief against the clear blue sky, which 
gives a power and tone to the bright colours that no 
other sky in the world (in my experience) can produce. 
The city looked as if it were fast asleep, but it was not 
— and never is ! The New Yorker is ever on the alert, 
for business or pleasure, and this being a pleasure day, 
as all Sundays are in New York, the streets were found, 
even at that early hour in the morning, to be quite alive 
with people hurrying to meet a steamer, or to catch a 
train in Jersey City, or elsewhere, to carry them off to 
the pretty country around Englefield, or some other 



ii8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

equally charming spot, or to take them up the famed 
Hudson River — one of the most beautiful in the world. 

The steamer was brought to at the wharf, as 
quietly as if she had a fear of waking up her living 
freight, most of whom were fast asleep, and, in some 
cases, snoring, in the comfortable state-rooms ; for on 
these vessels the passenger can remain in his room as 
long as his inclination dictates, and when he does get 
up, he has all the luxury of an hotel to fly to for his 
creature comforts. 

Mr. Osgood, with his usual consideration, sacrificed 
his own comfort, and was up betimes to conduct me 
to our hotel on Broadway — the " Metropolitan " — of 
which, as being a fair specimen of an American hotel, 
conducted on American principles, I had heard so much. 
Though we arrived here at the early hour of eight in 
the morning, everything was in full swing, the hotel 
being as busy at that hour as an English hotel at mid- 
day ; for, on entering the breakfast-room, there were 
some sixty or seventy persons partaking of their morn- 
ing meal. Mr. Osgood had his own house in New 
York, and it was only to gratify a whim on my part that 
I was allowed to put up at the ** Metropolitan." There 
was another reason, however, for my staying there, 
inasmuch as a distinguished member of Congress, who 
was also a newspaper proprietor in New York, made 
this hotel his home, and with this gentleman Mr. 
Dickens had made an agreement to write the original 



BROADWAY NOT QUITE THE THING. 119 

story with the manuscript of which, as I have ah-eady 
said, I was entrusted. For " George Silverman's Ex- 
planation," the sum of ;f 1,000 (gold) was to be paid on 
the delivery of the MS. Inquiries made in Boston as 
to the status of the paper and its proprietor, led to the 
suspicion that it would be as well not to part with the 
story except on the strictest business principles ; so, in 
order to give the member of Congress a fair chance in 
this respect, and to see the workings of one of the 
largest American hotels, Mr. Osgood's kind invitation 
to stay with him was declined. To what extent I was 
successful with the Congressman will be seen later on. 

Left to myself, in the early part of the day I took a 
turn in the streets of New York, and, be it confessed, 
was greatly disappointed with their general appearance? 
notably with that of the far-famed Broadway. Its style 
of architecture, or rather its absence of style, gave it 
a kind of ** higgledy-piggledy " look. Mr. Dickens 
described it as '* a sort of elongated New Cut." The 
pavements were horribly laid, no two stones having, 
apparently, been set by the same man ; or, if they had 
been, that man must have had very crude or very 
advanced ideas of the art of levelling. The carriage 
road was worse than the pavement, or " side walk," as 
it is locally termed. Here were to be found large holes, 
which gave one the impression that the stones had, at 
some time, been required for a particular purpose other 
than that of road-making, and that those in the road 



I20 CHARLES DICKENS. 

way, being the readiest to hand, had been summarily 
appropriated. These holes gave the most disagreeable 
wrenches to carriage-springs, to say nothing of the 
discomfort of the people "enjoying" the drive; and 
this is the more to be regretted as the carriages in New 
York City, both public and private, are of the most 
luxurious and elegant description — and so they ought 
to be, for they are dear enough ! But nobody ever 
thinks of expense in New York ; only give the people 
what they want, and they will pay anything for it in 
the most ungrudging manner ; but offer them what they 
do not want, and your dearest friend will avoid you. 
There is no poverty visible in New York, or any other 
American city, and a beggar in the streets is compara- 
tively unknown ; everybody is well dressed, in the best of 
materials, and it is a marvel where all the money comes 
from to support so much luxury as is everywhere to be 
met with. At the time of which I am writing — ^just after 
the war — gold was at thirty-nine per cent, premium 
and everything except articles of food was excessively 
dear. A hat cost (in English money) £3 ; a great coat, 
or a morning or dress suit, jf 10 to £iz ; a pair of walk- 
ing boots, £/^y and everything else in proportion. At 
Delmonico's Restaurant, and at the other first-class 
establishments of the same kind, a glass of brandy cost 
two shillings ; and a carriage drive of, say three miles, 
would cost as much as £1 ; but, with all these draw- 
backs, elegantly dressed ladies and gfentlemen were to 



A GOOD DEAL OF TROTTING. 121 

be seen driving about as if the charges were as moderate 
as in European cities. The excessive charges for car- 
riage driving may be due, in a measure, to the tramcar 
system, which is as cheap as the other is expensive, five 
cents (2jd.) being the charge for any distance, long or 
short ; but even this has its drawbacks, in the way the 
cars are overloaded, there being no regulation of the 
number of passengers. 

In the Central Park, which is too familiar to need 
description, no one is allowed to ride or drive at a 
higher rate of speed than five or six miles an hour; 
and, as the possession of a fast trotting-horse and 
*' buggy " is much coveted by the wealthy inhabitants 
of New York, this prohibition renders a public road — 
where the owner of the " mare and buggy " can test 
the quality of his cattle— a necessity. Outside the 
park there is a long, straight, and wide road, where 
the New Yorker, as soon as he reaches it, lets his horse 
** go." Here disported themselves the late Commo- 
dore Vanderbilt, and other distinguished patrons of 
the turf, with their fast trotters, ready for a race with 
any one worthy of a tussle ; and many were the 
collisions generally resulting in the collapse, or " fold- 
ing-up," of one or more buggies, while the occupants 
were considered fortunate if nothing more serious 
happened to them. This road is the resort on Sun- 
day afternoons of the elite of New York society, who 
linger about on the long steps, or in the verandahs 



122 CHARLES DICKENS 

of the many restaurants at each side, the tout ensemble 
presenting a scene of animation and vivacity far ex- 
ceeding anything of the kind either in the Bois de 
Boulogne, in Paris, or in Hyde Park. Returning to 
the city from the park, through the fashionable quarters 
of the Fifth Avenue, and the squares in its neighbour- 
hood, I had reason to change my opinion respecting 
the street architecture of New York City (judging it, as 
I had done, from a Broadway point of view), for here 
is nothing but order and regularity in the arrangement 
of the streets, this part of the city being as unlike that 
part of Broadway from Castle Garden to Union Square 
as is Lancaster Gate to the purlieus of the New Cut. 
It was arranged that we should get to work early 
next morning to obtain the opinions of the leading 
literary men and politicians then in New York. This 
enterprise promised a mixture of sentiments and ideas 
almost inexhaustible. New York City being regarded 
as the test place, by reason of the variety of opinion 
which prevails there. The first person we sought was 
Horace Greeley, then editor of the " New York Tri- 
bune," whose opinion — based upon his knowledge of 
the country and its people, on the one hand, and his 
admiration and personal affection for Mr. Dickens, on 
the other — rendered him the most fitting authority 
on so important an enterprise as the second visit of 
Charles Dickens to America. His reception of Mr. 
Osgood and myself was most cordial — that is, for him, 



WE INQUIRE OF THE ORACLES. 123 

for he was not a man of the most enthusiastic sort 
(which, perhaps, slightly enhanced the value of his 
opinion), and he soon made up his mind upon the 
point in question, expressing the belief that from a 
monetary point of view, the success would eclipse 
that of Jenny Lind. In a leading article in the "Tri- 
bune " he wrote : " The fame as a novelist which 
Mr. Dickens has already created in America, and which 
at the best has never yielded him anything particularly 
munificent or substantial, is become his capital stock 
in the present enterprise." 

The next person consulted was William Cullen 
Bryant, the poet, and editor and proprietor of the 
" Evening Post." This veteran was as enthusiastic 
as Horace Greeley, and freely placed his paper at the 
service of the undertaking. 

Another element had now to be sounded, the '* New 
York Herald." The founder of this remarkable pro- 
perty, Mr. James Gordon Bennett, was then alive. 
This gentleman made an appointment with me for the 
purpose of talking matters over in connection with the 
" second coming of Dickens," as the ** New York 
Herald " called it ; but it must here be remarked that 
Mr. Bennett's opinion had no weight with me, either 
one way or the other ; and it was only a little curiosity 
to make the acquaintance of so remarkable a man that 
led me to *' interview " him at all. 

When the meeting took place, Mr. Bennett pretended 



124 CHARLES DICKENS. 

to take the greatest interest in the subject, declaring 
that if ** Dickens would first apologize to the American 
public for the * Notes ' and * Martin Chuzzlewit,* he 
would make a large amount of money ; " but that even 
failing his inclination to do this, there was a possibility 
of his succeeding, if ** he was in good hands,'* notably 
in those of Mr. Grau, who, Mr. Bennett had been given 
to understand, had made Mr. Dickens a very hand- 
some offer. 

I thanked Mr. Bennett for his disinterested opinion, 
and promised to forward it to the proper quarter to- 
gether with his advice " not to charge a cent less than 
ten dollars (!) a ticket to see and hear Dickens." The 
following morning's issue of the ** New York Herald '* 
was looked for with no small amount of curiosity ; the 
surprise, however, was far greater than was antici- 
pated, and amounted to a sensation ; Mr. Bennett, 
with native liberality, had presented the New York 
public with a reprint of the ** American Notes," as a 
''special,'' free of cost! — an attention which I felt bound 
to acknowledge as speedily and handsomely as possible. 
This suggested to the enterprising mind of Mr. Os- 
good the idea of reproducing an edition of the *' Notes" 
in a cheap form, which subsequently realized an enor- 
mous sale at the moderate price of twenty-five cents a 
copy. This edition was to be found on every book- 
stall, tramcar, and steamboat in the country ; and, for 
the first time, the " Notes " were read by the then 



THE KING OF SHOWMEN. 125 

living population of the United States, and did more to 
cement that feeling of amity and friendship between 
Mr. Dickens and the American people (a friendship 
which, in his opinion, had never been severed) than 
•anything else could have done. 

The " New York Times " (one of the most ably con- 
ducted newspapers in America) said on this subject : 
" Even in England Dickens is less known than here, 
and of the millions here who treasure every word he 
has written, there are tens of thousands who would 
make a large sacrifice to see and hear the man who has 
made happy so many homes. Whatever sensitiveness 
there once was to sneering criticism, the lapse of a 
quarter of a century, and a profound significance of a 
great war, have modified or removed." 

The newspaper and political elements having been 
consulted, and their opinions having been " boiled 
down,*' there was one other class still left, whose 
opinion would be well worthy of consideration, viz., 
the " showmen," as the managers of the theatres and 
caterers for public amusements are popularly termed. 
Foremost amongst these was Mr. P. T. Barnum, the 
evergreen showman, whose opinion on all matters 
connected with public life is priceless. Then came 
Mr. Bateman (the " Colonel "), who was busily en- 
gaged at the time with a French Opera Bouffe Com- 
pany, and who, in later years, became the lessee of the 
Lyceum Theatre in London, and the discoverer of our 



126 CHARLES DICKENS. 

now justly celebrated Henry Irving. Harry Palmer 
was also in New York, making arrangements for the 
opening of his theatre (Niblo's Gardens) with his great 
spectacle of the ** Black Crook," out of which he 
amassed an enormous fortune. Lafayette Harrison, 
the proprietor of Irving Hall, had to be consulted, 
and John Brougham, the most versatile of actors and 
authors, and a warm-hearted Irishman, was also taken 
into council, and swelled the chorus of approval with 
which the enterprise was greeted. 

Being thus armed with encouragement by men of 
good business talent, and judges of what would suc- 
ceed and what would not, I felt that New York was 
certainly safe, if only a good room could be found for 
the Readings. The Cooper Institute was visited first, 
but the faults of the Boston Music Hall, Boston, were 
manifest here. Irving Hall was too small ; the theatres 
were all engaged, and the only available hall was the 
Steinway Hall, the property of the celebrated piano- 
forte makers of that name ; and this was eventually 
secured for the purpose. 

Of the other cities which I visited at this time, 
Washington presented the greatest novelty. Willard's 
Hotel was in those days the resort of officials from all 
parts of the civilized and uncivilized world ; members 
of Assembly, Congressmen, Indians from the prairies 
—trying to look like other people in the coat, waist- 
coat, and trousers, and the tall hat of civilization. 



*'WILLARD'S.» 127 

which last they generally wear at the back of the 
head, for no other reason that I could make out than 
to make the war paint on their faces appear more 
conspicuous. Add to these the loafer generally found 
about American hotels, and a more than usually large 
number of hotel thieves, and the reader can form 
some idea of what a large Washington hotel is like. 
The hotel thieves at *' Willard's" evidently included 
a considerable proportion of the guests, for they were 
important enough to have large printed notices posted 
about on the staircases, lobbies, and in the rooms, 
headed, *' Caution to Hotel Thieves," and informing them 
that, if caught in the exercise of their " profession " in 
that hotel, they would be confined in a cage kept for the 
purpose, and placed in a conspicuous part of the build- 
ing, where they would be " on view " for a few days 
before being handed over to the police ! This was no 
idle notification either, for there was one of the fra- 
ternity holding a levee in the cage at the time of my 
visit. Had there been any doubt as to the success of Mr. 
Dickens's Readings in America, it would have mani- 
fested itself in this '* city of magnificent distances," 
and, thanks to the energy of Mr. Franklin Philp, an 
Englishman holding a high position in Washington, the 
best advice was obtained, showing that Washington 
would prove no exception to the other cities which we 
had tested. 
According to my judgment, there was no necessity 



128 CHARLES DICKENS. 

to pursue the inquiries any further, and certainly no 
occasion to travel so far west as Chicago and the other 
western cities, especially as the newspapers in those 
places were filled with words of welcome to Mr. 
Dickens and his representative. Moreover, I was 
anxious to get back to England and settle the matter ; 
so I decided to call at New York, and collect the 
jf 1,000 in exchange for " George Silverman," or, at all 
events, to give the Congressman the chance of paying 
the money, and then go on to Boston, take leave of 
my friends there, and sail for home in the Cunard 
steamer Cuba, the week after leaving Washington. 

When I arrived at New York, I did not return to the 
" Metropolitan," but went to the Westminster Hotel, 
at the corner of 14th Street and Irving Place, in which 
Harry D. Palmer had invested a large amount of money. 
This hotel became the New York home of Mr. Dickens 
on his subsequent visit to America, and was as com- 
fortable and as quiet as any private house could have 
been. During the few days' stay in New York, frequent 
letters were written to the Congressman, informing 
him of my intention of returning to England in the 
course of the following week, and asking for his views 
with regard to the MS. This had, apparently, no 
effect on the legislator, as he never gave any signs of 
life until the very moment when I was about to leave 
the Westminster Hotel for the Bristol boat, when he 
suddenly appeared in the sitting-room at the hotel, 



THE MANAGER IS "SLY, SIR.' 129 

^vbere a farewell party was being held, and, throwing 
a bag — supposed to contain one thousand sovereigns — 
on the table, claimed the MS. The Congressman's re- 
putation being patent to the company then assembled, 
there were indications of a " row ; " but I prevented this 
by informing him that it would take more time to 
count one thousand sovereigns, and to test their 
genuineness, than I had at disposal; and, handing 
him back the bag with the intimation that Messrs. 
Ticknor and Fields had, in my absence, kindly under- 
taken to complete the business portion of the matter, 
the Congressman withdrew, saying *'he would send 
a banker's order to Boston," which, it is almost un- 
necessary to add, he never did ; but in all probability 
used the sovereigns in playing faro, a game to which 
he was so devoted that he actually kept an establish- 
ment in which to gratify his taste, and that of any 
person who happened to be passing by, any time of the 
day or night, especially the latter. The MS. even- 
tually became the property of Messrs. Ticknor and 
Fields, and was published by them in the ** Atlantic 
Monthly," and re-published in " All the Year Round," 
in the early part of 1868, while Mr. Dickens was in 
America. 




CHAPTER V. 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE AMERICAN TOUR. 

SAILED from Boston in the Cuba, under 
the command of Captain Stone, on Wed- 
nesday, the nth September. Before I 
left Boston, it was agreed with Messrs. 
Ticknor and Fields that a telegram containing either 
*'Yes" or *' No " was to be the pass-word for future 
action. If the former word, then Mr. Osgood had 
undertaken to secure such halls as had been agreed 
upon for the dates arranged, and so save any waste of 
time that might occur in communicating by mail; if 
the latter, then to abandon the idea at once and 
for ever. 

A splendid run of a little over eight days, brought 
the Cuba safely to Queenstown, whence I telegraphed to 
Gad's Hill, announcing my arrival, and requesting that 
instructions as to future and immediate movements 
might be sent to the *'Adelphi" at Liverpool, to await 



THE WELCOME AT "GAD'S." 131 

my arrival there on the following (Saturday) morning. 
The telegram in reply was characteristic of Mr. 
Dickens's good-nature and thoughtfulness : ** Welcome 
back, old boy ! Do not trouble about me, but go home 
to Ross first and see your wife and family, and come to 
me to * Gad's ' at your convenience." This entailed 
another telegram, to the effect that Mrs. Dolby was 
then on her way to London to meet me, and asking if 
the office, or " Gad's," would be the more convenient to 
talk matters over with the Chief on Monday morning. 
A prompt reply was awaiting my arrival in London : 
*' Come on to * Gad's ' this afternoon with your wife, and 
take a quiet day or two's rest, when we can discuss 
matters leisurely." This was accordingly done, and 
within a few hours of landing in Liverpool, I was cordially 
shaking the hand of my genial and loving friend at 
Higham Station, on the North Kent Line, whither he 
had driven in the basket carriage, escorted by a suffi- 
cient number of large dogs to have taken the prizes at 
all the dog shows in England. 

After all the work and excitement of my visit to 
America, the pretty Kentish country looked prettier 
than ever, and was well worth crossing the Atlantic 
for, independently of the greeting awaiting myself and 
wife at "Gad's" from the kindest women in the world, 
Miss Dickens and Miss Hogarth, who were standing 
under the porch to give a welcome to the traveller. 
Dinner was ready, and the gong was announcing this 



132 CHARLES DICKENS. 

fact as we drove up to the house, a circumstance which 
amused us all very much, suggesting, as Mr. Dickens 
said, ** real show business ; '* so the ceremony of dress- 
ing was dispensed with. Mr. Dickens was more intent 
on giving the news of theatrical, musical, and social 
events that had taken place during my absence, than in 
talking of matters of so much moment to himself, except 
so far as inquiring earnestly after the welfare of his 
old friends in America. 

Nothing, however, would induce him to enter on the 
most interesting subject, for he preferred, as he said, to 
give that a rest for a day or two, or at all events to 
defer it for a walk on the following day to Cobham 
village and through Cobham Park, returning by the 
" Leather Bottle," the inn where Mr. Tupman took 
refuge after his adventure with Miss Wardle. During 
this walk it was arranged that I should make an official 
report on the following day, or the day afterwards — at 
my convenience — which report would be forwarded to his 
friends, Mr. John Forster, Mr. Wills, and Mr. Frederic 
Ouvry (his solicitor), for their opinions, Mr. Dickens 
reserving the right of pleasing himself eventually. The 
report was a very voluminous one, and included plans 
of the various halls in the country; also calculations 
as to results at various prices of admission, and calcula- 
tions of expenses on a liberal scale. Then there was the 
consideration that gold was then at thirty-nine per cent., 
which would necessitate a great loss in the conversion of 



"THE CASE IN A NUTSHELL." 133 

greenbacks into gold, unless Mr. Dickens chose to 
turn speculator in American securities by purchasing 
** Five-twenty Bonds," then bearing interest at six per 
cent. — as he was strongly recommended to do by saga- 
cious business friends in America, and holding them 
until " matters pulled themselves round," as they un- 
doubtedly would, and did. 

As it was not possible, or convenient, to send the 
report with all its details to Messrs. Forster, Wills, 
and Ouvry, and as they could not be brought together 
conveniently (for Mr. Forster was at Ross, in Here- 
fordshire ; Mr. Wills was at his house at Dorking ; and 
Mr. Ouvry was, if I remember rightly, in Scotland), 
an idea occurred to Mr. Dickens to make a condensed 
report, for the consideration of these gentlemen, embody- 
ing all the features of the lengthened one ; and this he 
dictated to me, over the morning cigar, on the day 
after the first report had been handed to him. " The 
case in a nutshell," as he called it, tells the story so 
completely, that it would be an injustice to the reader 
not to give it in full, though it has already been 
published. 

" I. I think it may be taken as proved, that general 
enthusiasm and excitement are awakened in America 
on the subject of the Readings, and that the people 
are prepared to give me a great reception. The * New 
York Herald,' indeed, is of opinion that ' Dickens must 
apologize first,' and where a *New York Herald' is 



134 CHARLES DICKENS. 

possible, anything is possible. But the prevailing tone, 
both of the press and of the people of all conditions, is 
highly favourable. I have an opinion myself that the 
Irish element in New York is dangerous — for the reason 
that the Fenians would be glad to damage a conspic- 
uous Englishman. This is merely an opinion of my own. 

*' 2. All our original calculations were based on 
one hundred Readings. But an unexpected result of 
careful inquiry on the spot, is the discovery that the 
month of May is generally considered (in large cities) 
bad for such a purpose. Admitting that what governs 
an ordinary case in this wise governs mine, this reduces 
the Readings to eighty, and consequently at a blow 
makes a reduction of twenty per cent, in the means of 
making money in the half-year, unless the objection 
should not apply in my exceptional instance. 

" 3. I dismiss the consideration that the great towns 
of America could not possibly be exhausted, or even 
visited, within six months, and that a large harvest 
would be left unreaped ; because I hold that a second 
series of Readings in Amicrica is to be set down as out 
of the question ; whether regarded as involving two 
more voyages across the Atlantic, or a vacation of five 
months in Canada. 

"4. The narrowed calculation we have made is this: 
What is the largest amount of clear profit derivable, 
under the most advantageous circumstances possible 
as to their public reception, from eighty Readings, and no 



ESTIMATED NET PROFIT, ^15,500. 135 

more ? In making this calculation the expenses have 
been throughout taken on the New York scale, which 
is the dearest ; as much as twenty per cent, has been 
deducted for management, including Mr. Dolby's com- 
mission; and no credit has been taken for any extra 
payment on reserved seats, though a good deal of 
money is confidently expected from this source. But, 
on the other hand, it is to be observed that four 
Readings (and a fraction over) are supposed to take 
place every week, and that the estimate of receipts is 
based on the assumption that the audiences are, on all 
occasions, as large as the rooms will reasonably hold. 

"5. So considering eighty Readings, we bring out 
the net profit of that number remaining to me, after 
payment of all charges whatever, as ;f 15,500. 

" 6. But it yet remains to be noted that the calcula- 
tion assumes New York City and the State of New 
York to be good for a very large proportion of the eighty 
Readings; and that the calculation also assumes the 
necessary travelling not to extend beyond Boston and 
adjacent places, New York City and adjacent places, 
Philadelphia, Washington, and Baltimore. But if the 
calculation should prove too sanguine on this head, 
and if these places should not be good for so many 
Readings, then it may prove impracticable to get 
through eighty within the time, by reason of other 
places that would come into the list lying wide 
asunder, and necessitating long and fatiguing journeys. 



136 CHARLES DICKENS. 

** 7. The loss consequent on the conversion of paper 
money into gold (with gold at the present ruling 
premium) is allowed for in the calculation. It counts 
seven dollars to the pound." 

After the **Case" had been sent off, I decided to 
return to my house at Ross, in which town, by an odd 
coincidence, Mr. Forster was staying for the benefit of 
his health. So arrangements were made for a meeting 
to take place between us in ten days after my arrival 
there, 

Up to this time, I had only met Mr. Forster at the 
social gatherings at " Gad's " and at the office ; and, 
before the interview at his hotel at Ross, had not 
met him in a business capacity. Being perfectly aware 
of the intimate relations existing between Mr. Dickens 
and Mr. Forster, I regarded this interview with con- 
siderable anxiety, as, in my opinion, much depended on 
the view Mr. Forster should take of the matter. This 
anxiety was not allayed by the discovery that he had 
in the most unreasonable manner, and without any 
knowledge of the subject that I could see, made up his 
mind that the enterprise was not to be ; and a red rag 
could not have made a mad bull more ferocious than 
the discussion of the clauses in the moderate and 
business-like " case in a nutshell " made the biographer 
of the novelist. He had made up his mind, and there 
was an end of the matter. He urged that ever since 
the Staplehurst accident Mr. Dickens had been in a 



MR. FORSTER IN OPPOSITION. 137 

bad state of health, and that a sea-voyage was the very 
worst thing in the world for him. He had a personal 
dislike to America and the Americans ever since the 
Forrest-Macready riot; and as everybody in America 
knew of the intimacy between Dickens and Macready, 
the riots, he beheved, would be revived. He was cer- 
tain there was no money in America, and, even if there 
were, Mr. Dickens would not get any of it ; and if he did, 
the Irish (by some means I could not quite understand), 
and the booksellers, between them, would break into 
the hotel and rob him of it. Even if the money were 
deposited in a bank, the bank would fail on purpose. 

Then the calculation of ^^15,500 profit in eighty 
Readings was, in Mr. Forster's opinion, all nonsense, as 
the halls were not large enough, and, even if they were, 
there were not people enough in America to produce 
such a result. Mr. Dickens's desire to increase his 
property in such a short space of time, and in such a 
way, was unworthy of him, or, in fact, of any man of 
genius, as the business of reading was a degrading one. 
Besides, had not the Americans taken Mr. Dickens's 
books without paying any author's fees ; and why should 
they not do the same thing with the Readings ? 

The unreasonableness of these arguments, and the 
manner in which they were laid down, produced such 
an unpleasant effect on my mind that I felt relieved 
when Mr. Forster suggested that there " was no reason 
why the interview should be prolonged/* as he had 



138 CHARLES DICKENS. 

** fully made up his mind that Dickens should never go 
to America again'' 

It was with a sense of relief that I heard the hotel 
waiter announce that luncheon was served, and with a 
much greater sense of satisfaction that I declined an 
invitation to partake of that meal, and so ended a most 
disagreeable colloquy. 

As for Forster, his parting assurance was : ** I shall 
write to Dickens by to-night's post, and tell him how 
fully I am opposed to the idea, and that he must give 
it up." 

Leaving the oracle to his reflections and his lunch, 
I proceeded at once to the telegraph station, and sent 
the following telegram to Mr. Dickens : " I can make 
nothing of Forster; he is utterly unreasonable and 
impracticable. Come down here and stay at my house, 
and we will tackle him together." 

Mr. Forster had kept his word and had sent his 
manifesto to Mr. Dickens, who on receipt of it tele- 
graphed to me that he would come to Ross by the 
afternoon train, as suggested ; but would stay with 
Forster at the hotel for fear of wounding his feelings. 

I met Mr. Dickens on the arrival of the train, and 
conducted him to the hotel, leaving him in the care of 
his friend Forster, who displayed a considerable amount 
of chagrin at the action I had taken. 

Next morning I learned from Mr. Dickens that Mr. 
Forster had conducted himself in the same unreasonable 



THE ORACLE ORDERS LUNCH AND RELENTS. 139 

manner as before, leaving the matter where it was on 
the previous day. 

It may be mentioned that Mr. Dickens had received 
a letter from Mr. Wills, taking a sensible business view 
of the case, and suggesting that everything should 
be left entirely in my hands, relieving Mr. Dickens of 
all responsibility, on the understanding that all pre- 
cautions would be taken to make the enterprise ^a 
success. 

When we returned to Mr. Forster he remarked at 
once, " I see it's of no use for me to say anything 
further on the subject, for by your faces it is plain you 
have made up your minds." Being assured that such 
was the case, he resignedly ordered lunch, and nothing 
more was said about the matter on that occasion. 
Later in the day Mr. Dickens returned to London, and 
then a sudden change came over Mr. Forster's spirit. 
These good qualities which had endeared him to Mr. 
Dickens's heart began to manifest themselves, leaving 
an impression in my mind that the churlishness dis- 
played at our first interview was the outcome of his 
love and affection for Mr. Dickens and of an anxious 
desire for his welfare. The objections to the American 
tour were heard no more ; but when Mr. Forster was 
leaving Ross, he gave me at the railway station a 
parting injunction to take care of Mr. Dickens, which 
would have been really comic, but for the earnestness 
with which it was delivered. 



I40 CHARLES DICKENS. 

The word *' Yes" was cabled to Messrs. Ticknor and 
Fields, and I was left to make the most speedy arrange- 
ments for my return to America, to carry out the work 
in which I took so much pleasure. 

About three weeks sufficed for the necessary arrange- 
ments for my departure. All casualties in the future, 
so far as the American enterprise was concerned, had to 
be provided for; and as Mr. Dickens did not wish to be 
embarrassed with the details of money matters during 
the tour, he, with characteristic liberality, made such 
provisions for my requirements in this respect as would 
leave him free from monetary cares until the conclusion 
of the engagement. 

On Saturday, October I2th, I left Liverpool in the 
Cunard steamer China, having secured for Mr. Dickens 
the second officer's room on the deck of the Cuba, 
which was to sail on the 9th November, under the 
command of Captain Stone. To Mr. Forster this 
arrangement was communicated early in October : 
" The Scotia being full, I do not sail until Lord 
Mayor's Day, for which glorious anniversary I have 
engaged an officer's cabin on deck in the Cuba. I am 
not in very brilliant spirits at the prospect before me ; 
and am deeply sensible of your motive and reasons for 
the line you have taken; but I am not in the least 
shaken in the conviction that I could never quite have 
given up the idea.** 

So far as my voyage to America was concerned, it 



BACK TO AMERICA. 141 

had no particular novelty about it, until the arrival of 
the China at Halifax. The enthusiasm of the American 
passengers was far in excess of that experienced in the 
first voyage, for now the Reading tour in America was 
a settled fact ; and as the scheme had been largely dis- 
cussed not only in the States, but amongst Americans 
in all parts of Europe, the excitement was unbounded ; 
and many were the offers made in the China by men of 
position to *'take a hand" in the speculation. 

At Halifax, the alderman and councillors having 
heard of my arrival there, and that Mr. Dickens had 
determined to revisit America, again waited on me in 
the hope of extracting a promise that he would give 
one or more Readings in their city. It was not possible 
to give any definite premise, so the deputation decided 
to wait on Mr. Dickens personally, when they had an 
opportunity. 

The China arrived at Boston at seven on the morning 
of Wednesday, October 23rd; and early as the hour 
was, all the old friends, with the ** firm " at their head, 
were in waiting at the wharf to give me a hearty re- 
ception, and over a private breakfast on the steamer 
many sanguine hopes were expressed, which were happily 
fulfilled to the fullest extent. 

During my absence from America, and during the 
return voyage, some ridiculous paragraphs had appeared 
in the English and American papers about Mr. Dickens's 
health, and also about an imaginary "interview," 



142 CHARLES DICKENS. 

reported by the London correspondent of the *' New 
York Tribune." 

My reception in Boston was of the most encouraging 
character, and was really demonstrative on my appear- 
ance (as an invited guest), at the opening of the late 
Mr. Arthur Cheney's theatre (called Selwyn's Theatre, 
but since re-christened the Globe), on the Monday 
evening after my arrival ; where men of every class and 
denomination in literary and art life, not only in 
Boston, but from New York and the other large cities 
in America, were represented. 

On the receipt of the cablegram with a cabalistic 
"yes," Messrs. Ticknor and Fields (through their 
energetic partner, Mr. Osgood) had nearly perfected 
the tour arrangements, so far as securing the most 
important halls in the most important cities was con- 
cerned, leaving only matters of detail concerning the 
smaller cities, the advertisements, the printing of 
tickets, and the distribution of them, to be attended to. 
In the matter of printing the bills and posters, an un- 
expected difficulty presented itself in the fact that no 
paper of Mr. Dickens's favourite colour (a light orange) 
was to be found in America; and as he always used 
this paper in all his English enterprises, whether for 
the "contents' bills" of "All the Year Round" or for 
reading purposes, I (being desirous of making him 
feel that the Readings in America were identical with 
those in England) was naturally anxious to have all 
the familiar details reproduced as far as possible. 



TWO TONS OF YELLOW PAPER. 143 

After a diligent search amongst the factories of the 
principal paper-makers, for the desired colour, and 
finding it was not to be obtained, a calculation was 
made as to the quantity likely to be required, and an 
order for two tons was given. This was quite un- 
necessary, for after Boston and New York had been 
*' billed " for the first series of Readings in those cities, 
not a bill or poster was printed the whole of the 
American tour; and on its termination the unused 
stock was sold for more money than it originally cost. 

The question of prices of admission had here to be 
taken into consideration, and as this matter was one 
on which a great deal depended in the future result of 
the enterprise, it was necessary to treat it with a great 
deal of caution. One authority gave it as his opinion 
that any charge over fifty cents a ticket with twenty- 
five cents extra for a reserved seat would be fatal to 
the success of the enterprise. Mr. James Gordon 
Bennett, as I have already said, believed, or affected 
to believe, that the public would eagerly fill every 
room in the country at ten dollars a ticket. Other 
persons suggested five dollars as being the proper 
price to adopt, and so on ; until at last it became so 
evident that no one had any practical basis on which 
to found his calculations, that I decided on adopting 
a medium course, and fixed two dollars a ticket, to 
include a reserved seat, a decision that met with general 
approval as the results produced made clear. 



144 CHARLES DICKENS. 

The intervals of travelling and making advance 
arrangements for the coming tour, so as to leave me 
comparatively free when Mr. Dickens should arrive, 
were pleasantly spent in Boston, in constant meetings 
with such delightful men as Longfellow, Agassiz, 
Emerson, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell 
Holmes, Dr. Hayes, Donald Mitchell, Bret Harte, 
James T. Fields, Osgood, Howard Ticknor, and all 
the other representatives of the firm. The time passed 
away in the most agreeable manner until the date 
announced for the first sale of tickets in Boston, which 
was fixed for Monday, November i8th, and two days 
before Mr. Dickens's expected arrival. 

Since my parting with Mr. Dickens, many letters 
were received from him, either by myself or Mr. Fields ; 
and in one of these, written before sailing, to Mr. Fields, 
he says, in reference to the banquet, already mentioned, 
and in connection with the various rumours afloat as 
to his intentions in revisiting the States : " You may 
have heard from Dolby that a gorgeous repast is to be 
given to me to-morrow, and that it is expected to be a 
notable demonstration ; I shall try, in what I say, to 
state my American case exactly. I have a strong hope 
and belief that within the compass of a couple of 
minutes or so I can put it with perfect truthfulness in 
the light that my American friends would be best 
pleased to see me place it in. Either so, or my instinct 
is at fault." 




CHAPTER VI. 

THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE AMERICAN TOUR. 

REAT as was the excitement, on the an- 
nouncement being made that Mr. Dickens 
would read in Boston, the fixing of the 
date for the first Reading, viz., Monday, 
December 2, 1867, seemed to increase that excitement 
tenfold ; and especially when it was known that the first 
sale of tickets would take place at the publishing house 
of Messrs. Ticknor and Fields, No. 12, Tremont Street, 
Boston, on Monday morning, November i8th, at nine 
o'clock. Vague rumours were in circulation, and fears 
were entertained, that in the great excitement the 
general public would get no chance of buying tickets, 
for that the speculators, not only of Boston, but of 
New York, were making their plans to purchase all 
the tickets they could get, in the hope of selling them 
at a premium. These rumours caused a considerable 
amount of pressure to be put upon every one connected 
with the enterprise, by friends and acquaintances who 



146 CHARLES DICKENS. 

wanted to have tickets beforehand, or at all events to 
have their places marked before the sale commenced ; 
and so great was the demand in this respect, that Mr. 
Fields had on his list, on the night prior to the sale, 
orders for nearly 250 tickets for each of the first four 
Readings, and every one else connected in the firm 
was in a proportionately similar position. As such 
a course would have been obviously unfair to those 
persons who had no private influence with the "powers," 
I most distinctly declined to allow the sale to be con- 
ducted in any but a fair and straightforward manner, 
and decided that tickets for the course of the first four 
Readings only were to be sold the first day, and if any 
were left they were to be sold as required on the 
following days. 

In addition to the private demand for tickets, I was 
beset in every conceivable manner, not only through 
the post, but by personal application from people who 
were, or who pretended to be, afflicted in a variety of 
ways, by deafness, blindness, paralysis ; and all were 
anxious to avoid the trouble and annoyance of pur- 
chasing their tickets in the usual course. Strange to 
say, in consequence of th.eir various afflictions they all 
wanted front seats, a demand it was impossible to 
comply with. I came to the conclusion that the afflicted 
ones formed a large proportion of the population of 
Boston. 

On the evening prior to the sale, I was sleeping on 



SUBJECT TO PAINS IN THE BACK. . 147 

the sofa in my room at the hotel, when a stranger 
suddenly burst in, and walking straight up to the 
sofa, proceeded to shake me violently. When I was 
thoroughly aroused, he commenced yelling, as if in the 
greatest pain. Then taking a chair, he consented to 
state his case, in the intervals of shouts and shrieks 
of the most horrible and painful description. He said 
that from childhood he had been subject to pains in his 
back, which rendered exposure to the cold air a danger- 
ous operation. Under these circumstances, he con- 
sidered it would be inhuman to expect him to take his 
place in the line in the morning, for the purpose of 
buying his ticket; and as he had a great desire to hear 
Mr. Dickens read, and as his family was large, it would 
be a great convenience to him and his family if he 
could have his tickets there and then. 

Suspecting that the pains in the back were only 
a pretence for something else, I inquired how many 
persons his family consisted of, and expressed the hope 
that they were not similarly afflicted ; suggesting that 
perhaps one of his sons (if he had any) could save the 
parent the pain of exposure in an inclement atmo- 
sphere, and so obtain the tickets for him. 

He had no sons he could depend upon, he informed 
me, for such a duty ; in fact his family were " mostly 
all " girls. 

"How many tickets do you want for each Reading?" 

I inquired. 

6 



148 CHARLES DICKENS. 

*'Wall I guess I'll take a dozen for each Reading, or 
more, if you'll let me have them," he replied, *'and pay 
right away for them.'* 

On being informed that such a proceeding was im- 
possible, and would be unjust to the persons who were 
purchasing tickets in the ordinary course, in fact that 
his request could not be complied with at all — pains in 
the back or no pains — but that if he would leave his 
address the tickets should be sent to him after the sale 
had commenced on the following day, he rose to retire, 
a proceeding that brought the pains back again with 
the accompanying shrieks, which continued all along 
the corridor of the hotel. 

About an hour afterwards, the invalid was in perfect 
health at the bar of the hotel, and invited me to ''take 
a drink" with him. 

The invitation being declined, he informed me that 
he had come all the way from New York to buy tickets, 
and under the circumstances he thought it "mean" not 
to have supplied him considering his infirmity (here 
the pains in the back returned). Some of my friends 
being at the bar at the time, I joined them, cruelly 
leaving the sufferer to his pains and Bourbon whiskey. 
This beverage evidently had the effect of curing him, 
for at the sale of tickets on the following morning he 
was one of the earliest purchasers, and turned out to 
be one of the advance guard of the New York specu- 
lating brigade. 



A QUEUE HALF A MILE LONG. 149 

A timely notice having been given that no private 
applications for tickets on the first day's sale w^ould 
be attended to, a crowd assembled on the night pre- 
ceding the sale in Tremont Street, Boston, such as has 
never been seen before on an occasion of the kind. 
Intending purchasers sent their clerks, servants, and 
others to take their places outside the store of Messrs. 
Ticknor and Fields, as early as ten o'clock on the 
Sunday night, supplying each of them with a straw 
mattress, blankets, food, and in many cases with 
tobacco and creature comforts of an alcoholic descrip- 
tion. As all sales of tickets for places of amusement 
and for railways in America are conducted as in France 
{en queue), the proceedings were of a most orderly 
character. 

By eight o'clock in the morning the queue was 
nearly half a mile long, and about that time the em- 
ployers of the persons who had been standing in the 
streets all night began to arrive and take their places. 
Some idea of the extent of the sale may be formed 
when it is mentioned that the sale lasted over eleven 
hours, and until every ticket for the first course of 
four Readings was disposed of. The receipts amounted 
to $14,000 (or in English money, allowing for the de- 
preciation in greenbacks in converting them into gold, 
nearly ^f 2,000), and but for the fact that for these first 
Readings in America a great many tickets had to be 
given away to the representatives of newspapers, not 



I50 CHARLES DICKENS. 

only all over America, but over nearly the whole civi^i 
lized world, the receipts would have been much larger. 

In the midst of the sale of tickets a telegram was 
placed in my hands from Halifax, announcing the 
arrival of the Cuba in that city, en route for Boston, 
with Mr. Dickens on board. When this telegram was 
read to the crowd, there was a terrific furore, and the 
news had the effect of considerably enhancing the 
value of the tickets that found their way into the hands 
of the speculators. As has been said, the price of the 
tickets was two dollars, but some of them that had 
fallen amongst the speculators, and represented good 
positions near the platform, were sold for as much as 
twenty-six dollars. 

As the Ciiha was expected at her wharf early on the 
following day (Tuesday, November 19th), in order to 
save Mr. Dickens the inconvenience of a public re- 
ception on his landing, after the fatigues of a long 
voyage, I took advantage of the kindly offer of Judge 
Russell and Captain Dolliver to place the U. S. 
Customs steamer, the Hamblin, at my disposal that I 
might meet the Cuba in the bay, and land him at Long 
Wharf, where carriages would be in waiting to convey 
him to the Parker House Hotel. Messrs. Fields, 
Ticknor, and Osgood were invited to join the party, 
and at about midday we started off on what may be 
called a winter's yachting excursion. As there was 
considerable uncertainty as to the precise time that the 



THE PRESS IS IN DANGER OF STARVING. 151 

Cuba would appear, it was necessary to lay in some 
stores and creature comforts for the trip. The weather 
was terribly cold, the first herald of what proved an 
exceptionally hard winter. Hour after hour passed 
away and no sign of the Cuba was apparent, and after 
some hours of knocking and buffeting about in the sea 
in search of her, it was decided, whilst the daylight 
still lasted, to land at the signal station at Hull, in 
Boston Harbour, to see if, by the assistance of the 
powerful telescopes in use at the station, we could 
discern the steamer. 

Having landed and struggled up the side of the high 
hill on which the signal station is placed, we found 
ourselves in the presence of a large staff of newspaper 
men, who had been sent there to report the advent of 
the Cuba. These gentlemen were nearly frozen to 
death, and almost at starvation point, having been 
at their post since early morning with no house of 
entertainment within reasonable distance. Some one 
(it was Mr. Osgood, I think) suggested that in summer 
there was an hotel open about a mile away, and as the 
Cuba was nowhere to be seen, and as she could not 
under the most favourable circumstances (even if she 
appeared then) make the land where we were under 
an hour and a half, a pilgrimage to the hotel was 
decided on. Away we went, press-men and all, in 
search of the place, only to find on arrival there that 
the house was shut and deserted for the winter, the 



152 CHARLES DICKENS. 

only sign of anything to eat being the brick kiln in 
which the " clams " were baked in the season. 

Our stock of eatables on the Hamhlin had long been 
exhausted, and only some liqueurs remained ; two 
bottles of champagne had been reserved with which to 
drink Mr. Dickens's health on his arrival, and a little 
brandy remained. These with a few biscuits were all 
we had to give to the press gentlemen, and they very 
soon made short work of them, returning to their 
duties at the top of the hill. It was our time now to 
be starved, and after many conjectures as to what had 
become of the Cuba, whether Captain Stone had 
lost his way in the Bay of Fundy (for we knew he 
had left Halifax the previous day), or whether the ship 
had got into trouble, and what not, with night closing 
in upon us, matters began to look a little serious. Mr. 
Osgood, always equal to an occasion, suggested that, as 
I was intimate with Captain Moodie (whose ship, the 
Java^ was lying in the harbour, having gone into the 
stream to make room for the Cuba), we should board 
his ship and ask for food and shelter until the Ctiba 
came up to Boston. This suggestion was acted on, 
and in coming alongside the good old ship we were 
received by a greeting on the part of the officers on 
duty which could not have been more hearty or more 
sincere had we been shipwrecked mariners instead of 
hungry and half-frozen landsmen. 

My first inquiry was, ** Where is the captain ? " 



THE SKIPPER RESTORES US TO LIFE. isj 

*' In his room, aft, sir." 

A procession being formed, we marched thither to 
find one of the best and most genial of men taking his 
last glass of grog before setting sail for home the next 
day (although they may be bon vivants on shore, most 
of the Cunard captains and officers are strict temper- 
ance men at sea). As all the party were personally 
known to Captain Moodie, it was only necessary to 
make our wants known to him for them to be instantly 
supplied ; and it has been a marvel to me to the present 
day how so sumptuous a meal could have been produced 
in so short a time. 

The saloon seemed to be lighted up,*and the stewards 
in their places, as if by magic ; indeed, we had scarcely 
time to finish a glass of grog with the skipper before 
supper was announced ; and when we got well to work 
at it, and had time to express our opinion about any- 
thing, we all came to the conclusion that there never 
had been and never would be such another supper 
again. The captain, with his dear old beaming face^ of 
course took the head of the table, and seeing that we 
were enjoying ourselves so much, went in for a second 
supper himself. The cloth having been removed, and 
the kettle of boiling water, with glasses and toddy 
ladles, with a bottle of fine old Scotch whiskey (a rarity 
in the States), having been placed on the table, the 
party settled themselves down to await the arrival of 
the Cuba with a considerable degree of resignation. 



154 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Scarcely had the first glass of toddy been disposed 
of, and a discussion commenced as to the advisability of 
tackling a second one (some of the party did not discuss 
the matter, but took it), when the look-out man reported 
the '* Cuba in sight." A rush was made for the deck, 
and for the Hamblin, and after hasty " good-byes ** and 
thanks to Moodie, we cast away and steamed towards 
the Cuba, Moodie had made up his mind to be the 
first to salute his countryman Dickens on his arrival in 
America, and did so with a perfect shower of rockets 
as the Cuba passed his ship. 

Whether Captain Stone was in a hurry to make up 
for lost time in the only half-mile he had yet to run before 
getting to his wharf or not, I cannot say, but he disre- 
garded the signals of the Customs boat, and went along 
as if he were going to run Boston down. Away we went 
puffing after him, and making the harbour hideous by the 
shrieks of the Hamblin's steam whistle, all to no avail. 
The big ship looked like a floating village, with all 
her port-holes lighted up, and owing to her superior 
speed we had fears that we should not be able to board 
her after all, and so release Mr. Dickens before the 
Cuba got to her wharf. Fortune, however, favoured us, 
to the inconvenience of Captain Stone and his passen- 
gers, inasmuch as when he did slacken speed, and was 
within fifty yards of the wharf, the Cuba took a fancy 
to a mud-bank, and there she stuck for some hours ! 
the passengers having to remain on board all night, 



IT IS ALL RIGHT WITH THE CHIEF. 155 

much to the discomfort of their friends on the wharf, 
who were really within hailing distance of them. 

As we came alongside the Cuba at last, I heard the 
old familiar voice calling me by name. Here was really 
my old Chief, who had an idea in his head, as he said 
afterwards, that *' Dolby will pick me up from a pilot 
boat, or some other impossible place between Halifax 
and Boston." The Cuba was snorting, blowing off 
steam, backing and trying all she knew to get off the 
soft mud bed in which she was resting ; and in all the 
confusion, it seemed a lifetime before the plank was 
lowered, to enable me and our friends to get on board of 
her. At last all was right, and I had the unspeakable 
delight of being once more face to face, after a hearty 
greeting, with the best and dearest friend man ever had. 
Nor was the greeting between Fields and Dickens 
less hearty, for they were old friends, and had a sin- 
cere love for one another. Then the party left the ship 
for the quiet wharf, where a carriage had been in wait- 
ing for some hours. There was an addition to our 
number in the person of a young friend of the late 
Lord Lytton (Mr. Lowndes), who had been re- 
commended to the care of Mr. Dickens by his noble 
friend. 

This gentleman only remained with us for a few 
days, having a diplomatic appointment which took him 
to British Columbia. 

Arrived at the Parker House Hotel, there was a per- 



156 CHARLES DICKENS. 

feet ovation awaiting Mr. Dickens, for the news had 
spread to the city, and the disappointed ones on the 
wharf, having heard that Mr. Dickens had given them 
the slip, ran or drove to the Parker House, so as to catch 
a glimpse of him as he entered his hotel. Mr. Parker 
and Mr. Mills (the proprietors of the hotel) were there, 
as were also all the notabilities of Boston, besides the 
ordinary crowd to be found in a large American hotel 
in the evening. Through such a crowd as this, Mr. 
Dickens made his way, escorted by his friends, to his 
apartments, which, being in a quiet corner (high up) 
of the hotel, gave him immense satisfaction. 

Messrs. Parker and Mills had provided an excellent 
supper, which, albeit it was the second most of us had 
partaken of that evening, was enjoyed immensely ; and 
at an early hour our guests retired, leaving my Chief 
and myself alone to discuss matters over a tumbler of 
the old brew of punch and a cigar. 

Home matters and news of home took precedence 
of everything else, as it always did with him. His 
domesticity and mine were the first things to be dis- 
cussed ; then came his account of the voyage, from the 
time of leaving London to the time of our meeting, 
with any theatrical and musical news which he thought 
would be interesting to me up to that time. 

The voyage, but for the delay caused by head winds 
in the Bay of Fundy, between Halifax and Boston, 
would have been considered in those days a rapid one. 



THE PALLID CURATE. 157 

Captain Stone and Mr. Dickens had become very 
friendly, a circumstance not to be wondered at but for 
the well-known reticence of the captain, who was known 
as " Silent Stone ; " and to such an extent had Mr. 
Dickens conquered him, that on the last day of the 
voyage he not only induced the captain to sing several 
songs after dinner in the saloon, but persuaded him to 
take part with himself in the duet ''All's Well," and 
to make a speech. He recounted to me in a comical 
manner (if such a term can be used in connection with 
the subject) the circumstances under which Church 
Service was held on the only Sunday of the voyage 
(Sunday, November 17th). 

There was a very heavy sea, and the ship was rolling 
tremendously. It is usual for the captain or the doctor 
to read the service, unless there happens to be a clergy- 
man on board, in which case he is invited to officiate. 
On this occasion a pale young curate was amongst the 
passengers, and, being requested to perform the service, 
he amiably assented, without in the least calculating 
on his sea-going powers, or even his sea-legs, to carry 
out his good intention. When the time for service 
arrived, 11 a.m. (and a most impressive time it is at 
sea, with the fore and aft bells going to call the pas- 
sengers together), the officiating clergyman was brought 
into the saloon by two stalwart stewards supporting 
him (to use Mr. Dickens's own words) as if they were 
*' bringing him up to the scratch for a prize fight." 



158 CHARLES DICKENS. 

The congregation (passengers, and such of the officers 
and crew whose watch it was below) were all seated, 
so that there ought to have been plenty of room 
on the floor of the saloon for the reverend gentleman 
and his supporters. Such, however, proved not to be 
the case, for the mizen-mast was unfortunately in the 
way, rendering it necessary to watch very carefully the 
rolling of the ship before this could be cleared. An 
opportunity presenting itself, the stewards took ad- 
vantage of it to relieve themselves of their charge, and 
literally shot him between two tables to the reading-desk 
(consisting of some sofa cushions placed on the table). 
Then commenced fresh difficulties, for the clergyman 
found it hard to keep his legs (when standing up), 
added to which the reading-desk and the books kept 
moving about, and the congregation also began to roll 
off their seats, thus making what under ordinary cir- 
cumstances is a solemn and impressive occasion 
exceedingly funny. 

During the recounting of this episode in his voyage 
I could not but see that he was very depressed in 
spirits, which I ascribed to fatigue, and under ordinary 
conditions I should have bid him *' good-night," but 
I was anxious to have a talk with him about the 
coming enterprise, a subject I found him reluctant 
to discuss. He had been annoyed at supper by the 
waiters leaving the door of the sitting-room partially 
open, that the promenaders in the corridor of the hotel 



« THESE PEOPLE HAVE NOT CHANGED." 159 

might take a peep at him, through the crack between 
the door and the doorpost, whilst he was sitting at 
table. This curiosity made an unpleasant impression 
in his mind, and caused him to regret that he had not 
adhered to his original determination never to visit 
America again ; for, he said, "These people have not 
in the least changed during the last five and twenty 
years — they are doing now exactly what they were 
doing then." But here I reminded him that he had 
not been three hours in the country, and that he had 
not seen the people or even a house in the daylight, 
and I begged him to withhold any criticism on the 
subject until he had had better opportunities of judging, 
when I felt sure his opinion would change. After this 
the prospects of the success of the enterprise were 
discussed, and although he had heard from the pilot, 
who had met the Cuba early in the morning, of the 
success of the first sale of tickets on the previous day, 
he was totally unprepared for the figures I placed 
before him, and was more than amazed at the result 
of the sale. His pleasure, as he stated at the time, 
was not attributable to any feeling of avarice, but the 
compliment paid to him by the American people — for 
up to that time very few (and only those who had 
heard him read in Europe) had any idea what the 
Readings were like. Until Mr. Dickens read in America 
the public idea of a Reading was of a person reading 
from a book the work of some author other than 



i6o CHARLES DICKENS. 

himself; and it was only fair to suppose that when the 
author himself pourtrayed his own creations in his 
own way (and the favourite author of the American 
people too), the excitement would increase, and that, 
great as were the prospects in Boston, they would 
be equally as great, and if possible greater, in every city 
we visited on the tour. With this flattering hope we 
parted for the night, and so ended the day of arrival 
in America of Charles Dickens in 1867, a day memor- 
able not only to me, but to many dear friends he has left 
behind him there to mourn his loss. 

In arranging the plan for the American tour, provision 
was made to enable Mr. Dickens to become acclimatized 
and to recover from the effects of his voyage before 
commencing hard work. For this purpose ten days 
were allowed from the time of his arrival to the date 
of the first Reading in Boston. Some slight misappre- 
hension existed as to the reason why Boston was 
selected as the first Reading city in the States, in 
preference to New York. The reason was to be found 
in the fact that Mr. Dickens always regarded Boston 
as his American home, inasmuch as all his literary 
friends lived there, and he felt it to be only due to them 
that he should make that his starting-place, and 
especially so as it was on the earnest recommendation 
of his friends Messrs. Ticknor and Fields that he 
renewed and entertained the idea of reading in America. 

As results proved, the ten days allowed for rest were 



REUNIONS. i6i 

quite unnecessary, and instead of being a relief to Mr. 
Dickens was a cause of some mental irritation to him, 
for he felt he was losing time and was eager to com- 
mence reading. His friends in Boston vied with each 
other to make the days pass pleasantly, and had it 
been possible to go to three or four dinner parties a 
day and as many breakfasts, luncheons, and suppers, 
these hospitalities would have been forthcoming. He 
felt, however, that the purposes for which he was in 
America were all important, and with a view to saving 
himself for those purposes he made a point of declining 
most invitations, accepting only those given him by 
his friends Fields and Professor Longfellow. 

The day following his arrival, the latter called on 
him, as did also Messrs. Emerson and Agassiz and 
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, all of whom he met the 
following day at a dinner party at the house of Mr. 
Fields. With this exception, he accepted no invitations 
for great dinners, but passed his time in long walks with 
Fields (to Cambridge, one day, to call on Longfellow) 
or in paying little visits to his friends, merely par- 
taking of a luncheon with them, or joining them in a 
family tea. 

Two days after Mr. Dickens's arrival, I had to leave 
him for New York, where the first sale of tickets for 
the first four Readings there was announced for the 
following week (Friday and Saturday the 29th and 
30th). 



i62 CHARLES DICKENS. 

On my arrival in New York, to make preparations 
for our first sale of tickets in that city, indications 
pointed to a still greater furore there than in Boston; 
and as a result of inquiry I ascertained that the specu- 
lating fraternity were making active arrangements for 
securing all the best seats in the house, when the 
ticket-office should be opened. 

I had engaged a ticket clerk in Boston (one Marshal 
P. Wild), and taking him and my English agent in 
advance with me, proceeded to make preparations for 
the sale, a matter of no small importance, when it is 
considered that the Steinway Hall (in which Mr. 
Dickens was to read) seated two thousand five hundred 
persons. This hall, like every other hall and theatre in 
America, is perfect in its arrangements. Every seat in 
the house is numbered, and each seat is spacious and 
comfortable and provided with arms, so that it is not 
possible for two persons to take up the space of three, 
as in too many cases in England. The rows of seats 
are alphabetically arranged from A to Z, and then begin 
the double As, double Bs, and so on (the separate seats 
in each row being numerically defined). There are 
spacious passage-ways intersecting the hall, and the 
tickets are all marked R and L (for right and left), so 
that a ticket-holder knows exactly where to find his 
seat ; thus preventing scenes of confusion such as are 
frequently witnessed in places of entertainment in 
England. This system necessitates the printing and 



BOGUS TICKETS. 163 

numbering of each seat separately, and for this particular 
occasion ten thousand tickets were so prepared, and 
had to be checked and arranged in rows for each 
of the four Readings announced ; in addition to this, 
each ticket had to be stamped with our own private 
stamp, as it had come to my knowledge that an enter- 
prising individual had become possessed of a ** proof* 
of our tickets, and had actually got some printed with 
the intention of imposing on the public. This infor- 
mation was given to me by the largest speculator 
in New York, who also supplied me with the name and 
address of the printer employed to print the bogus 
ticket. This printer was a highly respectable man, 
and on my representing to him the case I ascertained 
that he had been duped by an unscrupulous person, 
representing himself as my agent, and he instantly in 
my presence *' broke up" his type and destroyed all 
the tickets he had printed (some thousands), and, 
appealing to the police authorities, made the unscru- 
pulous one pay largely for his folly. 

The arranging and stamping of our tickets became 
a matter of some days' labour for my little staff, but 
it was excellently done, and not a difficulty occurred 
from this cause at our first sale. 

After a run back to Boston (a little journey of nine 
hours) to arrange some matters of detail in connection 
with the first Reading there, and to see how my Chief 
was getting along, I returned to New York with Mr. 



i64 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Osgood, who had kindly undertaken the duties of 
treasurer to the enterprise, and thus left me free to go 
and do as I liked, without being trammelled by account 
keeping. 

The scene in Boston was as nothing compared with 
the scene in New York, for the line of purchasers 
exceeded half a mile in length. The line commenced 
to form at ten o'clock on the night prior to the sale, and 
here were to be seen the usual mattresses and blankets 
in the cold streets, and the owners of them vainly 
endeavouring to get some sleep — an impossibility under 
the circumstances; for, leaving the bitter cold out of the 
question, the singing of songs, the dancing of break- 
downs, with an occasional fight, made night hideous, 
not only to the peaceful watcher, but to the occupants 
of the houses in front of which the disorderly band had 
established itself. 

These ladies and gentlemen had my sincere sympa- 
thies ; for my hotel was within fifty yards of the scene 
of action, and the shouting, shrieking, and singing of 
the crowd suggested the night before an execution at 
the Old Bailey, when executions were still public. 

Under the circumstances it was not difficult to be up 
betimes in the morning, especially as all through the 
night I was receiving visits from the most prominent 
of the speculators, who were desirous to know what my 
plan of action was to be when the sale did commence : 
a subject I was not communicative upon (indeed, had 



TAKING STOCK OF THE SPECULATORS. 165 

no fixed plan myself, as will be hereafter explained). 
The anxiety of these gentlemen on the subject, and a 
friendly chat over a glass of brandy-and-water, con- 
vinced me that the speculative element was more 
largely represented in that line of human beings, 
certainly amongst those nearest the ticket-office, than 
amongst the legitimate purchasers, and decided me in 
taking my friend, Mr. Palmer (whose experience in 
such matters was invaluable), into my counsels, to 
consider the best mode of baffling, if possible, the 
speculators* designs, and giving the general public a 
fair chance of getting good seats. 

The sale was announced to commence at nine 
o'clock; at eight I turned out with Mr. Palmer, Mr. 
Osgood, and Captain Garland (the police captain of the 
precinct), followed by such of our staff as could be 
spared, and the *'boss" speculators, to walk along the 
line and to inspect the forces, in order to see who were 
speculators' agents and who were not. At this time 
merchants or their clerks began to arrive and take the 
places of those who had been keeping them warm (!) 
for them all through the night, thus changing the 
appearance of the force inspected from that of a 
rabble to that of a most respectable community. 

We ascertained, from observation during the inspec- 
tion, that certainly forty-five out of the first fifty men 
in the line were speculators' representatives, and a 
closer observation showed to us that nearly all these 



i66 CHARLES DICKENS. 

men wore caps. Here was an idea, suggested, I think, 
by Palmer. "Sell only at the first 'go off' six tickets 
for each Reading, to men in hats " (it may be men- 
tioned that, as at Boston, tickets were only sold on 
the first day for the course of four Readings then an- 
nounced), " and turn out those who come to the ticket- 
office in caps," a proceeding which seemed a little 
rough on the poor fellows who had been standing out 
in the cold the whole night; but at the same time 
necessary for the carrying out of Mr. Dickens's desire 
and principle of giving the public a fair chance in all 
matters in which he was concerned. 

When the time for opening the ticket-office arrived, 
and the police passed the word along the line that 
" four tickets only for each Reading would be sold to 
each person, and those only to people in hats," the 
consternation amongst the speculators was great. 
They, however, were equal to the occasion, for in the 
lapse of a few moments they had collected all the hats 
they could fiom waiters and others in neighbouring 
restaurants and other places, and by means of changing 
a hat for a cap at the entrance-door to the ticket-office, 
the speculators contrived to get into their possession 
the greater portion of the first seven or eight rows of 
seats in the hall. 

By two o'clock in the afternoon of the first day, every 
ticket was sold, and the amount taken was something 
over $16,000 for the first four Readings. At the last 



THE TICKETS GO AT A PREMIUM. 167 

moment I had suppressed nearly four hundred tickets 
for each Reading ; for, although the Steinway Hall 
is a very fine one, and perfect in every respect 
for musical performances, I did not feel sure of it 
for the purposes of the Readings, as at the back of 
the first and second galleries there were large square 
recesses, each of them holding four hundred per- 
sons; and my idea was, after Mr. Dickens had seen 
the hall, and had tested its acoustic qualities (in 
which operation he was an adept), that he would 
wish to have these recesses closed in, and by so doing 
improve the hall for speaking purposes, and also give 
it a more snug appearance from the platform. A 
suggestion to this effect was made by myself to Mr. 
Steinway, who, with characteristic liberality, at once 
entered into my ideas, and immediately gave an order 
for panelled shutters to be made, and to be in readiness 
for Mr. Dickens's arrival at the end of the following 
week. 

The suppression of these four hundred tickets assisted 
the speculators' trade immensely, and before the sale 
had progressed two hours the speculators were selling 
the best seats at enormous premiums. One man (one 
of the first purchasers), who wished to be present 
at the first Reading only, sold the remaining three 
tickets for the first Reading and two tickets for the 
second, third, and fourth, for fifty dollars and a 
brandy cock-tail (about ^^7 los.), a profit of ten dollars, 



i68 CHARLES DICKENS. 

not to mention the advantage of getting his ticket for 
the first Reading for nothing, with four tickets in hand 
for the other Readings. 

On the following night, I returned to my Chief in 
Boston, so as to be ready for the first Reading there on 
the following Monday (December 2nd); but not before 
I had discovered myself to be, as Dickens described 
me, *' the best abused man in America." 

Despite my precautions, the sale of tickets in New 
York had given universal dissatisfaction, the public 
connecting me with the speculators* trade, and without 
in the least taking the trouble to " look at home ; " for 
the Wall Street brokers, merchants, lawyers, and private 
individuals became even greater speculators (with their 
surplus tickets) than the ordinary practitioners. Lead- 
ing articles of the most abusive kind were written 
about me, notably in the " New York Herald " and the 
" World," the latter paper remarking, " Surely it is 
time that the pudding-headed Dolby retired into the 
native gloom from which he has emerged ; " a sugges- 
tion which caused the greatest amusement to myself 
and Mr. Dickens, and gained for me afterwards 
(amongst our friends) the initials ** P. H." The 
" Tribune," " Times," and other leading newspapers 
took no notice of the correspondence showered into 
their offices on this subject; for Mr. Horace Greeley 
had detected, with his usual astuteness, that the letters 
and articles were instigated by the speculators them- 









s'^:.^*^^ 









|^^-'^"'"_ 




-i i ' 






i6R 



"P. H." 169 

selves, who, in view of a second sale of tickets about 
to take place after the first Reading in New York, for a 
second course of four Readings, would have been glad 
to get matters more into their own hands than they 
were able to do at the first sale ; and the success 
attending their first effort had made them eager for the 
second, in proof of which, during the early part of the 
first day's sale, they were offering " twenty dollars for 
anybody's place " on the line (an offer which in no 
instance was accepted). All kinds of suggestions were 
made as to the manner in which the future sales should 
be conducted, and amongst others was one that the 
tickets should be sold (in sets) by auction (with a 
reserve price of two dollars, a ticket) a proceeding which 
would have greatly benefited the enterprise, but would 
have been inconsistent with Mr. Dickens's principle, 
never to receive more than the advertised price for the 
tickets, and would also have laid him or myself open 
to the charge of collusion with the speculators. 

On my return to Boston, early on the morning of 
Sunday, December ist, I found Mr. Dickens had been 
passing his time wearily (for him), and was looking 
forward to the following evening to commence the cam- 
paign. This weariness would have been unbearable tc 
him but for the social intercourse with his friend Fields. 
The result of the sale of tickets in New York was an 
additional source of satisfaction to him, and he was 
immensely amused at the descriptions I gave him of 



I70 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the incidents of the sale, at the same time he had fears 
that the speculating mania would act prejudicially on 
the enterprise. At first he was greatly shocked and 
pained at the correspondence and the " leaders " in 
the newspapers ; but this feeling gave place to one of 
hilarity when I explained to him the source from which 
the articles emanated, and, like myself, he regarded 
them as so much gratuitous advertisement. 

A mass of correspondence was awaiting me, con- 
taining offers of engagement for Readings from Canada, 
Nova Scotia, and the outlying places in the far West, 
all of which had to be attended to and respectfully 
declined, for we had decided on not accepting any 
offer, no matter how brilliant. In addition to these, 
there were over two hundred letters, containing 
requests for Mr. Dickens's autograph. A quiet morn- 
ing was devoted to the despatch of such business as 
could be got through; and in the afternoon, at the 
request of Judge Russell, a visit was made to the 
school-ship, where, after the afternoon service, Mr. 
Dickens made his first speech, on this his second visit 
to America, to the boys who were in training there, 
giving them words of encouragement and counsel as to 
their future lives, such as he only could give — words 
equally encouraging and hopeful to the elder members 
of the congregation, and bringing tears to the eyes of 
many, both great and small. On his departure from 
the ship, the boys manned the yards, and, notwithstand- 



THE FIRST NIGHT. 171 

ing that it was Sunday, they gave him a ringing cheer 
as the little Hmnhlin puffed away from her larger 
sister. 

The day following was devoted to preparing for 
the evening's Reading, some hours being spent in the 
superintendence of the erection of the screen, gas 
arrangements, and the fixing of the little reading-table. 
The Tremont Temple had to be tested acoustically, a 
process that was always gone through in every new 
room in which he read. 

The process was very simple, and was conducted in 
the following manner. Mr. Dickens used to stand at 
his table, whilst I walked about from place to place 
in the hall or theatre, and a conversation in a low tone 
of voice was carried on between us dui^ng my perambu- 
lations. The hall having been pronounced perfect, 
a long walk was undertaken ; and after a four o'clock 
dinner (as in England) and a sleep of an hour or so, 
we went to the Tremont Temple for the great event 
of the day. 

The Readings selected were, the " Christmas Carol " 
and the "Trial from Pickwick." The audience was 
of the most brilliant description, being composed of 
all the notabilities in Boston, literary and artistic, 
added to which New York had supplied its contingent 
from the same sources, and had further sent to Boston 
a staif of newspaper men to report, by telegraph, 
columns of description of the first Reading, so that 



172 CHARLES DICKENS. 

on Tuesday, December 3rd, not only had all the 
Boston papers a full account, but so had also the 
New York papers — a compliment which was highly 
appreciated by Mr. Dickens. 

The reception accorded to Mr. Dickens, in making 
his appearance at the little table, had never been 
surpassed by the greetings he was in the habit of 
receiving in Edinburgh and Manchester, and was 
calculated to unnerve a man of even greater moral 
courage than he was possessed of. Those who were 
not applauding and waving handkerchiefs were 
seriously " taking in " the appearance of the man 
to whom they owed so much, which up to this time 
they knew only by the bad photographs in the shop 
windows. These, by the way, were so wonderfully 
unlike him, that, later on, I prevailed on him to sit to 
Mr. Ben Gurney in New York, who succeeded in pro- 
ducing the only good photograph of him in existence. 
It was to this artist only, and then only once, that he 
gave a sitting in America. 

When everything was quiet, and the deafening 
cheers which had greeted his appearance had sub- 
sided, a terrible silence prevailed, and it seemed a 
relief to his hearers when he at last commenced the 
Reading. The effect of the first few words (without 
any prefatory remark) : "A Christmas Carol in four 
staves. Stave one, Marley's Ghost. Marley is dead 
to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about 



AN "ASIDE." 173 

that The register of his burial was signed by the 
clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief 
mourner. Scrooge signed it, and Scrooge's name was 
good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his 
hand to," placed the reader and his audience on good 
terms with one another, the audience settling itself 
down in rapt attention for what was to follow ; and 
by the time the first chapter was finished the success 
of the Readings, certainly so far as Boston was con- 
cerned, was an accomplished fact. During the 
progress of the Reading I was moving about in various 
parts of the hall and its galleries by the many entrance 
doors, watching the effect of the Reading on the 
audience, and gauging the acoustic properties of the 
Tremont Temple, reporting myself by arrangement 
at the side of the screen at the end of the second 
chapter, where a brief conversation, carried on in an 
" aside " during the applause, was held between the 
reader and myself : 

Mr. Dickens, Is it all right ? 

Myself, All right. 

Mr, Dickens. Hall good ? 

Myself. Excellent ; go a-head, sir. 

Mr. Dickens. I will, when they'll let me. 

Myself. First-rate audience. 

Mr. Dickens. I know it. 

Brief and hurried as was this " aside,*' it seemed to 
give him greater confidence in depicting the scenes 



174 CHARLES DICKENS. 

in the third chapter, and in all my experiences with 
him, I never knew him to read the description of the 
Cratchit Christmas dinner with so much evident 
enjoyment to himself, and with so much relish to his 
audience. When at last the Reading of " The Carol '* 
was finished, and the final words had been delivered, and 
** so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us every one,'* 
a dead silence seemed to prevail — a sort of public sigh 
as it were — only to be broken by cheers and calls, the 
most enthusiastic and uproarious, causing Mr. Dickens 
to break through his rule, and again presenting him- 
self before his audience, to bow his acknowledgments. 

No one but myself (and his servant Scott) was ever 
allowed (except on rare occasions) to go into his 
dressing-room during the interval between his first 
and second Reading, but on this evening Fields had 
been invited to do so. He, on entering the room, 
exclaimed, ** You have given me a new lease of life, 
for I have been so looking forward to this occasion 
that I have had an idea all day that I should die at 
five minutes to eight to-night, and be deprived of a 
^onging desire I have had to hear you read in my 
country for the last nineteen years.'* 

A hearty embrace and a glass of champagne con- 
vinced Fields that he was still in this life (would that 
he were so now ! ) ; and after a lapse of a few minutes 
(ten minutes only being allowed for the interval), Mr. 
Dickens returned to the table to make his audience 



THEY REVEL IN "PICKWICK." 175 

shriek with laughter, and revel in the pourtrayal of 
the humorous characters in the far-famed Reading 
of the " Trial from Pickwick," which had been given 
by him so often in England, that he often strayed 
away from the actual text, and indulged in the habit 
of an occasional ''gag." As nearly every line of 
*' Pickwick" was as well known to the audience as 
to himself (for in Boston nearly every man, woman, 
and child, was a " Pickwickian," certainly so far as 
their knowledge of the book was concerned), these 
occasional liberties with the text were the more 
enjoyed, and, being invariably taken on the spur of the 
moment, were regarded more in the light of a new 
edition, direct from the author, than anything else. 

In this particular Reading, he had full scope for the 
impersonation of each of the characters he represented, 
and with his dramatic instincts he took advantage of 
the situation and gave himself up to the delineation 
of those characters, a circumstance which in one 
instance did not give entire satisfaction. 

During the progress of this Reading, I was engaged 
in conversation with one of my staff at the foot of the 
stairs leading to the hall, when my attention was 
drawn to a gentleman coming down the stairs in a 
most excited state. Imagining him to be ill and 
wanting assistance, I said, " What's the matter with 
you ? " From, the accent of his reply, I concluded 
that he was a *' reg'lar down Easter." 



176 CHARLES DICKENS. 

*' Say, who's that man on the platform reading ? ** 

** Mr. Charles Dickens,'* I replied. 

" But that ain't the real Charles Dickens, the man 
as wrote all them books I've been reading all these 
years." 

'' The same.'* 

After a moment's pause, as if for thought, he replied, 
" Wall, all I've got to say about it then is, that he 
knows no more about Sam Weller 'n a cow does of 
pleatin' a shirt, at all events that ain*t my idea of Sam 
Weller, anyhow." 

After the delivery of this speech he clapped his hat 
on his head, and left the building in a state of high 
dudgeon. 

The Reading being concluded, and the most enthu- 
siastic signs of approval having been accorded to the 
Reader in the form of recall after recall, Mr. Dickens 
indulged in his usual **rub down," changing his dress- 
clothes for those he habitually wore when not en 
grande tenue, and a few of his most intimate friends 
were admitted into his dressing-room to offer their 
congratulations on the result of the evening's experi- 
ences, and great was their surprise to find themselves 
in the presence of a highly refined '* Pegotty," rather 
than in that of the polished gentleman they had been 
listening to for the past two hours. 

After the fatigue and excitement of the Readings 
in America (although on this particular evening he 



BOSTON AT HIS FEET. 177 

declared he was as cool and collected as if he had 
been reading in Greenwich), it was his great pleasure 
to have a few friends to supper with him at the 
hotel, and on this occasion Mr. and Mrs. Fields, and 
some others joined our supper party — friends whose 
judgment could be relied upon — when all agreed that 
never before had anything in Boston called forth such 
enthusiasm as that night's Reading had done, an 
assurance that gave Mr. Dickens the greatest satis- 
faction. 

The following evening's Reading was, if possible, a 
greater success (" David Copperfield " and " Mr. Bob 
Sawyer's Party") than the Reading on the previous 
evening. Before the announcement of the Readings 
in Boston, an intimation had reached me that the 
" pirates " had decided in sending shorthand writers 
to the Readings to " take them down " as they pro- 
gressed, with a view to their reproduction and sale — an 
intimation which was conveyed to Messrs. Ticknor and 
Fields ; and they promptly anticipated such a pro- 
ceeding by at once issuing the Readings (taken from 
Mr. Dickens's own reading books) in small volumes, 
and selling them at their store at such a price as made 
it impossible for the " pirates " to get anything out of 
their publication. 

It is not necessary to go through in detail the features 
of the first four Readings in Boston. As in England, 
only four Readings were given in each week, viz., 



178 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays ; leaving 
Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday for rest when no 
travelHng had to be done. Later on in the tour, it not 
unfrequently happened we had to travel, as in England, 
on the day a Reading had to be given, but this only 
when short journeys had to be undertaken (from three 
to four hours), towards the end of the tour. Letters 
containing offers of engagements kept pouring in, and 
the autograph nuisance became greater than ever. As 
each of the autograph hunters enclosed a postage 
stamp affixed to an addressed envelope for reply, it 
became absolutely necessary that some notice should 
be taken of the application. 

This difficulty was overcome by means of a printed 
circular, signed by myself and sent to the applicant, 
informing him (or her) that " compliance with the 
request contained in the letter received was not reason- 
ably possible." 

Before adopting this plan, I consulted a well-known 
and highly popular author in Boston as to what course 
he pursued under similar circumstances. He replied, 
" I invariably, when the writer of the letter is not 
known to me, throw the letter into my waste-paper 
basket, and use the stamp enclosed for my personal 
correspondence ; and it is surprising how soon this fact 
becomes known, and how few letters of a similar kind 
I receive now." 

The success of the Readings in Boston, and the 



WE MODIFY OUR PLANS. 179 

prospects of the same success repeating itself in New 
York, decided us in changing our plan of tour. A 
reference to the " Case in a Nutshell " will show that 
the original idea was to give eighty Readings in all in 
America, these to include Canada and Nova Scotia, 
whence it was intended to set sail for England. The 
early success, added to the prophecies of the " knowing 
ones " in matters of weather (notably. Dr. Hayes the 
Arctic explorer, who was one of our constant asso- 
ciates), that the winter would be one of unexampled 
severity; the facts that Mr. Dickens had caught a 
severe cold thus early in the proceedings, and that the 
discomfort in travelling was not calculated to improve 
his condition; — all these things decided him to limit 
our scene of action as much as possible, and not to 
go farther south than Washington, farther west than 
Chicago, or farther north than Portland, taking in the 
New England cities en route. This plan included 
Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and a pleasure 
trip to Niagara, and was designed to induce the public 
to come to Mr. Dickens rather than that he should go 
to them. The comparatively small number of Readings 
that had to be given, with the prospects of success, 
justified us in thus cutting down the tour list. 




CHAPTER VIL 

CHRISTMAS AND THE NEW YEAR IN THE STATES. 

|N Saturday, December 7th, we left our 
kind friends in Boston for our first rail- 
way journey to New York, and great was 
the crowd to say " good-bye " to the one 
they all loved so dearly. This journey was undertaken 
by the Shore Line Route, the most convenient as to 
the hours of departure in the morning, a matter to be 
thought of when it is considered that the distance from 
Boston to New York is about 240 miles, and the time 
occupied in performing this journey (by express train) 
is nine hours. This time would be considerably re- 
duced if the train had not to cross two wide rivers, 
one at Stonnington and the other at New London, this 
causing a delay of certainly one hour on the journey ; 
although everything is done to make the inconvenience 
as light as possible, by running the train on to the 
ferry boat (in which is an excellent restaurant), and 



NEW YORK. l8i 

conveying it across the river bodily, without troubling 
the passengers to move from their seats, unless they 
wish to do so. 

New York was reached at six in the evening, Mr. 
Dickens being very tired, and his cold showing signs of 
taking an influenza turn. 

I had secured a suite of apartments for him at the 
Westminster Hotel, where he was hospitably received 
by my friend Harry Palmer, and his partner, George 
Roberts ; and an excellent dinner having been disposed 
of, we took a little turn round in the gas-lighted streets, 
just to refresh his memory, if possible, of New York, and 
to see if he could make out in what part of the city he 
was located ; all to no avail, for in the twenty-five 
years which had elapsed since his first visit there. 
Union Square and Fourteenth Street scarcely existed. 

The mass of correspondence awaiting me, not to men- 
tion the preparations for another sale of tickets on the 
following Wednesday, suggested an *'all night sitting" 
by myself in the hope of getting through some of the 
work before the morrow, when I knew I should have 
to be on duty with my Chief the whole day. I 
found a hundred or more letters from the autograph 
collectors, which for the time being had to be put on 
one side, to make place for the enormous correspondence 
consequent on so gigantic an enterprise. And as Mr. 
Dickens, during his stay in America, made it a rule of 
never opening a letter addressed to himself (except his 



i82 CHARLES DICKENS. 

European letters, and those addressed in the well- 
known handwriting of one of his friends), my labours 
were at times a little perplexing; especially as, if at any 
time I referred any matter to him, he invariably met 
such reference with the remark, " Do as you like," 
which did not in the least ease my mind. 

After breakfast the following morning, the first thing 
to be done was an inspection of Steinway Hall, about 
which he had evinced the greatest curiosity and anxiety, 
not feeling at all sure that he would like it, from the 
description I had given of it. I had said nothing to 
him about the provision I had made for enclosing the 
recesses. 

The hall being reached, it did not in the least surprise 
me that he was very dissatisfied with it, declaring that 
it was next to impossible to produce any effect in so 
large a place, especially with those big open recesses 
at the back of the galleries, where all the sound would 
go and stop when it got there. The first feeling of 
disappointment and annoyance having passed off, we 
proceeded to test the acoustic properties of the hall in 
the usual way, and, to Mr. Dickens's amazement, it 
was found to be perfect ; and depressed as he was in 
spirits on first seeing the hall, his spirits rose immense^ 
when I told him of the arrangements I had made for 
shutting in the objectionable recesses ; and but for the 
attack of influenza from which he was suffering, the 
prospect of success, in his imagination, would have 



THE "WESTMINSTER." 183 

been as great in New York as it had been in 
Boston. 

We spent a quiet day together in walking about the 
city and in driving in the Central Park, which was a 
source of great pleasure to him. He was very much 
struck with the alterations that had taken place in the 
city since his first visit there, and especially in the ex- 
tension of Broadway, pointing out to me that the spot 
where Wallack's Theatre (now the *' Germania ") stood 
was quite a suburb at the time. 

His delight in the Westminster Hotel was unbounded. 
Mr. Palmer, with thoughtful consideration, had hired 
specially a French waiter for our service, and had " told 
off" a boy to be in attendance outside the sitting-room 
door in order to prevent intrusion on Mr. Dickens's 
privacy ; and, in addition, had arranged that he was to 
have the exclusive use of a private staircase leading 
from a private door, so that he could come in and go 
out without fear of molestation. No wonder then that 
the Westminster Hotel, in Irving Place, became our 
postal address for all our correspondence, and our 
domicile whilst in America. The apartments were 
furnished to suit Mr. Dickens's taste, and two writing- 
tables with lock-up drawers were placed side by side 
(one for Mr. Dickens and one for myself), so that we 
could work together without the inconvenience of run- 
ning from room to room, in the event of any question 
having to be referred. 



i84 CHARLES DICKENS. 

The success of the Readings in New York far ex- 
ceeded Mr. Dickens's most sanguine expectations, and 
but for the extra exertion in reading in so large a hall 
as the Steinway, under the burden of an influenza cold, 
everything would have been in the highest degree satis- 
factory. He described the New York audience as being 
*' far better than that at Boston," which was saying a 
great deal for them. 

On Wednesday, December nth, the second sale of 
tickets was held in New York for four more Readings 
announced for the following week, when the same 
features presented themselves as on the occasion of the 
first sale, only in a more exaggerated form, with the 
additional inconvenience to those who had to stand out 
in the streets all night to secure good places in the line. 
They were in position long before the Reading of 
Tuesday evening the loth was over. The thermometer 
had fallen to several degrees below zero (Reaumur), and 
signs were not wanting that a heavy fall of snow was 
imminent. The speculators were in greater force than 
ever, the New York brigade being augmented by con- 
tingents from Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Jersey City, 
all of whom had taken temporary offices in New York, 
for the disposal of the tickets at handsome premiums. 
Some of these gentry had attired themselves in fancy 
costumes, one of them being made up like George 
Washington — wig, three-cornered hat, and all. He was 
a very old man, and would have looked the part well 



WE ARE SERVED WITH A SUMMONS. 185 

had he been a little less stout and less like Mr. 
Pickwick. 

When the ticket-office opened, I changed my plan of 
action, and instead of commencing to sell the seats in 
the front rows, gave orders to the ticket clerks to com- 
mence selling at the tenth row, in the hope of getting 
the least good seats into the hands of the speculators, 
and after the first fifty or sixty purchasers in the line 
had been supplied, of commencing to sell the front rows 
to the general public. This, of course, again gave 
general dissatisfaction to the speculators, but was 
greatly approved of by those who got the seats nearest 
to the platform. It unfortunately happened that 
amongst the earliest purchasers were two clerks em- 
ployed in a commercial house in New York, and they 
having been supplied with tickets for seats far back in 
the hall, became greatly exasperated at my treatment 
of them, and would listen to no explanation, although I 
had offered to change their tickets for seats near the 
platform. 

This offer was accepted by one of the malcontents, 
but the other would listen to no reason, and imme- 
diately repaired to the police-office, and took out a 
summons against Mr. Dickens for obtaining money 
under false pretences. At dinner that evening, Mr. 
Dickens was personally served with the summons by 
the Marshal, whose astonishment was great, first to 
find himself in the presence of Mr» Dickens, and 



i86 CHARLES DICKENS. 

secondly, at Mr. Dickens's polite invitation to join him 
in a glass of champagne in recognition of the gentle- 
manly manner in which he had performed a most un- 
pleasant duty. The Marshal was so overcome by this 
attention that he gulped down the wine in a great 
hurry. This led to a fit of coughing and a hasty exit 
from the room. 

The summons was handed over to our legal advisers 
in New York, and the circumstance having been brought 
under the notice of the employers of the enterprising 
clerk, he was dismissed their service for speculating in 
tickets, and had to withdraw his action, paying all the 
costs himself. When we heard of this I gave him 
better seats than those he had purchased, and Mr. 
Dickens personally waited on his employers and inter- 
ceded for him. The result was that he was reinstated 
in his position, after promising that he would never 
again (whilst in that employ) speculate in tickets for 
places of amusement. 

Handsome as had been the abuse of me in all the 
smaller papers of New York on the occasion of the first 
sale of tickets, it literally paled before the attacks which 
were made now. Mr. Dickens described me as "the 
most unpopular man in America (and for no reason that 
I can see except that he cannot get four thousand 
people into a room that holds two thousand), and so he 
is reviled in print every day. He takes it very coolly 
though, and does his best." 



A QUEUE OF THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILE. 187 

The number of persons *' in the Hne " on this par- 
ticular occasion exceeded three thousand, and the queue 
was over three-quarters of a mile in length. Long 
before noon all the tickets were disposed of, and many 
had to go away ticketless. The receipts exceeded the 
proceeds of the first day's sale. 

All the money taken was in paper (greenbacks), and 
necessitated a considerable labour in sorting and 
checking it, and making it up into packets for the bank; 
and Mr. Dickens's amusement was great on my return 
to the hotel, when he saw me turn out of my pockets on 
the table what he called my " stuffing." ** Dolby," he 
wrote, ** has just come in from our ticket sales, and has 
put such an immense untidy heap of paper money on 
the table that it looks like a family wash." Amongst 
this "untidy heap" were greenbacks for all sorts of 
amounts, from 25 cents (about is.) up to $50 (;f 10). 

The climate of America is so even that those accus- 
tomed to it have no difficulty in predicting any change. 
The prophecy of a snowstorm turned out to be quite 
correct, for early in the evening the snow commenced 
to fall, and continued falling the whole night, the 
ground being covered on the following morning with a 
mantle eight inches deep, and, in places where it had 
drifted, considerably more, rendering the streets impas- 
sable. This continued all through the day, and it was 
only late in the afternoon of Thursday that the tram- 
lines were cleared sufficiently (by means of steam 



i8S CHARLES DICKENS. 

snow-ploughs), to enable the traffic to be resumed. The 
snow by this time had fallen to the extent of from 
sixteen to eighteen inches. Americans are always 
practical and equal to an occasion, and it was sur- 
prising to see with what rapidity every kind of convey- 
ance which only the day before had been running on 
wheels had suddenly become transformed into a sleigh. 
Not a wheel, except on the tramcars, was to be seen in 
the city after midday. Up to this time only the traffic 
was entirely suspended, and having to walk " down 
town " in the blinding snow to our bankers' agents to 
send to England our first remittance of 5^3,000, with the 
" family wash " done up in a brown paper parcel, I felt 
a considerable security against being knocked down 
and robbed in the fact that from Union Square to Wall 
Street (a distance of three miles) I saw but three persons 
in Broadway. The walk was not an unpleasant one, 
except that from the feet to the knees I was wet 
through, and was an experience I would not have been 
without, if only to satisfy my mind that I should not 
make a good Arctic traveller. 

On my return to the hotel, I found my Chief in a state 
of despondency, standing at the window watching the 
still falling snow, literally streaming at the eyes and 
nose from the effects of his influenza, and propounding 
a theory to himself as to the utter futility of attempting 
to read that evening, even if his influenza would enable 
him to do so, as he was under the impression that there 



** STICKING" THE SPECULATORS. 189 

would be no one to listen to him in the immense hall 
in which he was advertised to read that night ; for- 
getting for the time that the tickets were all sold and 
the money banked, and that if there were any loss at all 
it would devolve on the speculators who had so eagerly 
bought the tickets, and that they stood a chance on this 
occasion of being " stuck.'* 

The operations of the ticket speculators on the 
evening of any performance are carrried out on the 
pavement (or side-walk as it is called in America), in 
front of the theatre, circus, or hall in which the per- 
formance or lecture takes place. On this occasion they 
were in front of Steinway Hall in full force, willing 
to sell at any price so as to '*get out." The public, 
taking advantage of the snowstorm and the resumption 
of the tramcar traffic, came in goodly numbers, fully 
bent on getting the best of the speculators for once in 
their lives. Long before the time for opening the doors 
most of the speculators had *' sold out " at considerable 
reductions, taking in some instances seventy-five cents 
and a dollar, or a dollar and a half for a ticket that had 
cost them two dollars, thereby incurring heavy losses. 
The more astute of them, however, seeing the way 
things were going, " held their stocks " until a quarter 
of an hour before the time advertised for the commence- 
ment of the Reading, in many cases realizing handsome 
profits— one speculator getting at the last moment as 
much as ten or twelve dollars for a ticket, thus 



I90 CHARLES DICKENS. 

realizing as much as if there had been no storm at all. 
I felt that as the speculators ran the risk, they were 
entitled to the profits the public were willing to pay, 
rather than be put to the same inconvenience, and that 
as I could not give satisfaction to the aforesaid public 
I had no right to attempt to spoil the market of our 
chief supporters by giving them only the worst seats in 
the house, an opinion entirely endorsed by Mr. Dickens 
after the experience we had in the snowstorm. 

Mr. Dickens was amazed on going to the platform to 
find himself in the presence of an audience as brilliant 
in every respect as on the two previous occasions, and, 
as is frequently the case under similar circumstances, 
the effects of his influenza was not observable in the 
delivery of the Reading. The only person incon- 
venienced was himself, but he got through manfully, as 
he always did, to the immense delight of the audience. 

After having sold their tickets for the Reading on 
this evening, the principal speculating firms repaired 
to Boston, where a second sale of tickets was to be 
held on the following morning. Mr. Dickens being 
unwell, I had to remain in New York with him, but 
sent my ticket clerk and another member of the staff 
to Boston, to assist Messrs. Ticknor and Fields in the 
conduct of the sale. One of the New York speculators 
had telegraphed to Boston to have fifty men placed in 
the line, and to be in waiting for his arrival at six in 
the morning ; but as the country was many inches 



A "BOSS" SPECULATOR. 191 

deep in snow the train was late. His advance agents 
had been equal to the occasion, however, and he arrived 
in Boston at about ten in the morning to find himself a 
purchaser of three hundred tickets for each of the two 
Christmas Readings announced for Monday, Decem- 
ber 23rd, and the following evening (Christmas Eve). 
He returned to New York to superintend the sale of 
his equally large stock of tickets for the four Readings 
to be given the following week. 

This enterprising individual made a point of staying 
in the same hotel with ourselves, so as to be able to 
move as we moved ; and he took the utmost pains to 
ascertain our movements in advance, that he might be 
ready for emergencies ; the only city where he did not 
" operate " being Washington, in which he had no 
faith. 

Mr. Dickens's cold and the inclemency of the weather 
kept him confined to the hotel, which he quitted only 
to go to the hall in the evening to read. The monotony 
of his life was greatly relieved by the timely arrival in 
New York of Mr. and Mrs. Fields, Mr. and Mrs. John 
Bigelow, and occasional visits from his friends Horace 
Greeley and William CuUen Bryant. 

Here were guests enough for a dinner party on the 
following Sunday, and a cheerful conclusion to a week 
of hard work, bad weather, and great anxiety. On this 
occasion, and in consideration of his state of health, 
the guests retired earlier than usual, in the hope that 



193 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Mr. Dickens might enjoy a good night's rest, so as to 
strengthen him for another hard week's work. Their 
intention was good, but it was frustrated by a wholly 
unforeseen circumstance. Having parted with him for 
the night, at about eleven o'clock, and not being dis- 
posed for rest myself at that hour, I went down to the 
bar of the hotel (fitted up more like a smoke-room of a 
club than an ordinary bar-room) tp see if any friends 
were about. 

Walking straight up to the marble counter, and call- 
ing for the bar-keeper, I became aware of a brass helmet 
emerging from under the counter, and in an instant, 
instead of a bar-keeper, I found myself face to face 
with a fireman, looking very much perplexed. 

*' What's the matter now ? " I inquired. 

**Well," said the landlord, "we didn't want you 
here at all to-night, for, to tell you the truth, the house 
is on fire, and we can't find out where the fire is ; and 
until we can do so we don't want Mr. Dickens to be 
disturbed." 

I inquired how long it was since the discovery had 
been made, to which the landlord replied that he 
*' guessed about five or six hours." That the place 
was on fire somewhere there was no doubt, for clouds 
of smoke now began to come out from between the 
wainscotting boards forming the wall of the bar ; the 
paint was beginning to blister, and the smoke to rise 
through the staircase boards. 



« FIRE ! »» 193 

As matters were now looking a little more serious 
and business-like, it occurred to me that I would go 
and report to Mr. Dickens, whose apartments were at 
the farther end of the house, to prepare him for any 
emergency. 

I found him on the point of getting into bed. 

" What do you want ? " he inquired. 

" The hotel's on fire.*' 

" I know it," he said. 

*' How do you know it ? *' 

" I can smell it," he said. " What are you going to 
do about it ? " 

** I don't know," I replied, 

" Where is the fire ? " 

" Nobody knows ; but they guess it's somewhere at 
the other end of the building." 

" When do you suppose it will get here ? " 

*' Well," I said, ** at the pace it has been going for 
the last five or six hours, I should say some time before 
breakfast in the morning." 

Here a council of war was held as to the best thing 
to do under the circumstances. To go to bed with a 
view to a night's rest was out of the question, not to 
mention that we had a lot of valuables about us, in the 
way of papers, jewellery, and money (there were over 
$5,000 in greenbacks in my writing-table drawer), all 
of which had to be taken care of. 

We decided on arousing Scott and George (the gas- 



194 CHARLES DICKENS. 

man), the other men being in Boston. This being 
done, Scott had instructions to pack one suit, his 
master's dress clothes, and the reading-books, with his 
jewellery, in a small portmanteau, and to place it, with 
the despatch boxes, near the window in the sitting- 
room, from which he could easily escape in case of 
necessity, and then to proceed to pack up as many of 
Mr. Dickens's other matters as time would allow. 

George was told off to assist me in like operations, 
and as I was in evening dress, I had to make an entire 
change suitable to the exigencies of the climate and 
the situation. 

All these preliminaries having been disposed of, and 
the luggage having been piled up close to the window, 
I proceeded to *' stuff" myself with the paper money, 
and to put my jewels and papers in my pockets; then 
we went downstairs to see how the fire was getting on, 
Mr. Dickens, in his pea-jacket and blue sailor's trousers, 
with a thick muffler round his neck, looking more like 
a pilot than ever. 

By this time the smoke had left no doubt in the 
minds of the other guests as to what was going on, and 
the passages and staircases were one mass of confusion, 
ladies and children only half dressed rushing about in 
the wildest dismay, while the gentlemen were busy 
packing and hauling about their large American trunks. 

Mr. Dickens's entry into the burning bar was 
hailed by the landlord with delight, and he thereupon 



QUITE A "ONE-HORSE" FIRE, THOUGH. 195 

insisted on our joining in *^ drinks round," to pass the 
time until the actual seat of the fire could be discovered. 

The firemen and hotel servants were chopping away 
at the floors, ripping up boards in every likely and 
unlikely place in the hope of finding out the fire, and 
for some time to no avail, until an idea struck one of 
the firemen that the cause of the smoke might be in a 
distant part of the house. 

He commenced his investigations in a sitting-room 
(the ladies' reception-room) close to our apartments, 
and there was the cause, sure enough. The wing of 
the hotel in which we lived had been but recently built, 
and under a new fireplace in the ladies' reception-room 
was a large wooden beam, which had become ignited. 
The smoke having no vent had travelled along under 
the first floor of the hotel, and had found an outlet in 
the bar. When once discovered, the mischief was 
easily remedied, and much of the night was passed in 
jovial congratulations all round, the whole entertain- 
ment winding up about two o'clock in the morning in 
Mr. Dickens' sitting-room. 

Two weeks in New York, without the inconvenience 
of travelling, had a most beneficial effect on Mr. 
Dickens's influenza. The elegant carriage I had hired 
for him had been replaced by a most comfortable and 
equally elegant sleigh, and we used to take long rides 
in this every day, with an exhilaration of the spirits 
such as is not to be produced by any other means. 



196 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Having a spare evening on Wednesday, December 
i8th, and the influenza being much better, Mr. Dickens 
accepted the invitation of Mr. Palmer to visit his 
theatre (Niblo's), v^^here the great spectacle of the 
** Black Crook " was presented ; and as Mr. Dickens 
was little disposed to be the subject of popular enthu- 
siasm, as he would have been had he sat in the front of 
the house, Mr. Palmer had an armchair placed for him 
in the prompt entrance, a position from which everything 
could be seen on the stage, with the additional advan- 
tage that he was able to move about behind the scenes, 
and enjoy a friendly chat with the artists engaged. 

The "Black Crook" had been running for over six- 
teen months, and had netted to the proprietors, Messrs. 
Jarrett and Palmer, a considerable fortune. Not one 
of the actors or actresses engaged in the piece had even 
been able during all this time to discover what it all 
meant, and the only intelligible thing that could be said 
of the representation Mr. Dickens described in the 
following words : " The people who act in it have not 
the slightest idea of what it is about, and never had ; 
but after taxing my intellectual powers to the utmost, 
I fancy that I have discovered * Black Crook ' to be a 
malignant hunchback leagued with the Powers of 
Darkness to separate two lovers, and that the Powers 
of Lightness coming (in no skirts whatever) to the 
rescue, he is defeated. I am quite serious in saying 
that I do not suppose there are two pages of ' All the 



THE SKIRT OF THE BALLET-DANCER. 197 

Year Round * in the whole piece (which acts all night) ; 
the whole of the rest of it being ballets of all sorts, 
perfectly unaccountable processions, and the Donkey 
out of last year's Covent Garden pantomime." 

The shortness of the ballet skirts was a source of 
considerable surprise to Mr. Dickens. He thus de- 
scribes them in a letter to his friend Mr. Macready : 
** Having some amiable talk with a neat little Spanish 
woman, who is the premiere danseuse, I asked her in 
joke to let me measure her skirt with my dress glove. 
Holding the glove by the tip of the forefinger, I found 
the skirt to be just three gloves long, and yet its length 
was much in excess of the skirts of two hundred other 
ladies whom the carpenters were at that moment 
getting into their places for a transformation scene on 
revolving columns, or wires and * travellers ' in wire 
cradles, up in the flies, down in the cellars, on every 
description of float that Wilmot, gone distracted, could 
imagine ! " 

Mr. Dickens*s presence in America, and the success 
attending his Readings, naturally prompted the various 
theatrical managers, not only in New York, but all 
over the country, to reproduce adaptations of his books 
in the form of plays, and for the time being opera botiffe 
and the lighter pieces so popular in America were put 
on one side to make room for these productions — some 
good, some.indifferent, and some bad. Mr. Dickens could 
not be prevailed upon to witness any of them, and with 



198 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the exception of Niblo's Theatre and Lent*s Circus he 
did not visit any of the theatres in New York. 

We left New York on Saturday, Dec. 21st ; starting 
by a midday train in order that Mr. Dickens might 
not be hurried in the morning, and in the hope that he 
would obtain some relief from the effects of his cold, 
which at the time was causing him many sleepless 
nights. 

The railway line had been cleared of snow, and our 
train was but very little late in arriving at Boston, 
where a delightful surprise was awaiting us at the hotel, 
the result of the affectionate thoughtfulness of Mrs. 
Fields and of Captain Dolliver — Mrs. Fields had deco- 
rated our rooms with flowers and English holly, " with 
real red berries," festoons of moss dependent from the 
looking-glasses and picture-frames; and Captain Dolliver 
had sent to England for some enormous boughs of 
mistletoe (a great rarity in America), so that the rooms 
presented such a homely Christmas appearance that 
we were both deeply affected by it. Our Christmas 
letters from home were in waiting for us, and it must 
be confessed that at our late dinner on that evening 
we were less conversational and more thoughtful than 
even the depressing effects produced by the Chiefs 
influenza had made us for some days past. After dinner 
we sat round the fire and talked of nothing but home 
and the dear ones there, until the early hours in the 
morning, when we went to bed thoroughly worn out. 



CHRISTMAS IN BOSTON. 199 

Of the thoughtful kindness of our friends that day, Mr. 
Dickens wrote, " In such affectionate touches as this 
the New England people are especially amiable.'* 

By this time four Readings had been given in Boston, 
eight in New York, and all the tickets sold for the four 
Christmas Readings in Boston, and four more Readings 
in New York announced for December 26th and 27th and 
January 2nd and 3rd in the New Year ; giving a vacation 
of five days to enable New York to recover from the effects 
of keeping Christmas and the New Year, and also to give 
Mr. Dickens a little rest, in which to combat with the 
influenza which, in the severity of the climate and the 
discomfort of the travelling, was literally keeping him 
down. 

The successful issues of the Readings already given 
had proved to us that, in future operations, there 
was no necessity to take the smaller cities of America 
except for the purposes of breaking long journeys, and 
we also became convinced that when these smaller 
places were touched the holding capacity of each 
hall would be tested to the utmost. Mr. Osgood, 
whose knowledge of the country and whose connections 
in it were universal, undertook the formation of the 
plans for our new tour, making such alterations in 
existing arrangements as would entail the least travelling 
and discomfort to Mr. Dickens. 

The only place to which we were actually bound was 
Philadelphia, for eight Readings (in four visits, of two 



200 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Readings each), and in the new route Brooklyn, Balti- 
more, Washington, Cincinnatti, Chicago, and St. Louis 
were included, also Providence (R.I.), Worcester, New 
Haven, and Springfield in the New England States, 
and Rochester, Buffalo (en route for Niagara for our 
pleasure trip), Syracuse, and Albany, in the State of 
New York. As Mr. Dickens was under the impression 
that the value of the Readings in New York and 
Boston would be greatly enhanced by not being over- 
done, we decided on closing up in New York in the 
middle of January, and not going there again except 
for five farewell Readings in the month of April. 
Boston was to be treated in the same way, with the 
exception of one other visit in the last week in February, 
for four Readings only, and as circumstances afterwards 
proved, this decision was a very wise one. 

The Readings in Cincinnatti, St. Louis, and Chicago, 
were never given, much to the disappointment of the 
inhabitants of those places, and as much speculation 
existed in the public mind as to the cause which deter- 
mined Mr. Dickens not to read in Chicago, it may be 
as well here to state that his reasons were entirely 
of a private character with which the general public 
have nothing whatever to do. That he fully intended 
reading there is shown by the fact that I twice started 
for Chicago, only to be recalled from Pittsburg; and 
on the third occasion I contrived to evade the telegram 
I felt sure would be awaiting me in Pittsburg, by 



THE PUDDING IS SENT FROM ENGLAND. 201 

passing through that place without staying there, 
even for a night's rest, being as desirous myself that 
he should reap the harvest av^aiting him in the West, 
as the Western people were that he should pay them 
a visit. 

A hard day*s work in our own rooms at the Parker 
House, in re-arranging our route, with the valuable 
assistance of Mr. Osgood, was pleasantly relieved by a 
dinner party at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Fields. This 
was our Christmas dinner, for on Christmas Day we 
had to travel from Boston to New York. A most 
brilliant company had been invited to do honour to the 
occasion, and all the well-known features of an English 
Christmas dinner-table, in the shape of roast beef and 
turkey, were placed before us, even to the plum pudding, 
made in England, and sent over specially for this enter- 
tainment. All feeling of depression at being away from 
home at such a time was dissipated by the geniality of 
our host and hostess, and the guests invited to meet 
Mr. Dickens ; and there was universal regret when the 
hands of the clock pointed to the small hours in the 
morning, suggesting most painfully that the time for 
breaking-up had arrived. 

These Christmas Readings at Boston were, if possible, 
more brilliantly attended and more enthusiastically 
received than any of the previous ones had been, 
especially the reading of the ** Christmas Carol " on 
Christmas Eve. The circumstances under which the 



202 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Reading was given, and the subject itself, on such an 
occasion, producing a profound sensation. 

On Christmas Day we left our friends in Boston for 
New York ; Mr. Dickens suffering from the most acute 
depression, consequent, in a great measure, on the 
return of the influenza, and the necessity of having to 
leave Boston and to travel on such a day. At the 
station, early in the morning, were Mr. and Mrs. 
Fields, Longfellow, Agassiz, Oliver Wendell Holmes, 
Ticknor, and a host of other friends who, with the 
kindest of intentions, had come to say *' good-bye," and 
to present their Christmas greetings. These were a 
signal failure, and the kindly wishes ended in a perfect 
break-down in heart and speech to him who had done 
so much to keep Christmas green in the hearts of 
Englishmen. 

Under these circumstances the journey to New York 
was anything but a pleasant one. During the early 
part of it not a word was spoken on either side. Nor 
was this feeling alleviated by an unlooked-for compli- 
ment which awaited us in the crossing of one of the 
rivers on the steam ferry. On this river is stationed 
one of the men-of-war belonging to the United States 
Government, under the stern of which the ferry had 
to pass. The captain in command of this vessel had 
attended some of the Readings in Boston, and, knowing 
that Mr. Dickens would be in the ferry, he had deter- 
mined to give him a greeting. As the ferry-boat passed 



RATHER HOME-SICK. 203 

the war vessel the band on board struck up *' God save 
the Queen," and at the same time the British flag was 
unfurled on the mizen-mast, and a wreath of holly and 
evergreens *'run up" immediately beneath it. Our 
fellow-passengers knew the meani.ig of this tasteful 
tribute, and set up a ringing cheer with ** three times 
three and a little one thrown in," which had the effect 
of rather increasing the depression from which we were 
both suffering. 

Never before or since had we experienced so gloomy 
a journey, and we were delighted to find ourselves once 
more in New York. Very little was said about 
Christmas, the only reference to it being made by Mr. 
Dickens in proposing the health of all our dear ones 
at home, finishing with his favourite quotation from 
** Tiny Tim." It was with some sense of relief and 
pleasurable anticipation that we looked forward to the 
end of the Readings, which were announced for the 
two following nights, that Mr. Dickens might take a 
few days' rest, of which he stood so much in need. 

New Year's Day is strictly observed in New York, 
and as everybody is either paying calls or receiving 
visitors (as in Paris), it is considered, and is, a bad 
night for theatres and amusements of all kinds. The 
amount of self-denial the ladies especially display is 
surprising. At the time we were in America, it was the 
fashion for ladies to wear a very different kind of coiffure 
from the present style, and as first-class hairdressers 



204 CHARLES DICKENS. 

were very scarce, the few that did exist and had any 
clientele were greatly in request, having, in order to get 
through their commissions, to commence as early as 
eight o'clock in the evening on New Year's Eve, thus 
entailing on the customer the inconvenience of sitting 
bolt upright all through the night for fear of disturbing 
the work of the artist in hair before the time for 
receiving visits the following day. This process com- 
mences early in the morning, the ladies receiving 
guests, whilst the gentlemen are rushing frantically 
about from house to house, making calls ; the more 
wealthy of them using carriages for this purpose (the 
rate of fares on this particular day being raised to an 
almost prohibitory price), the poorer ones being com- 
pelled to walk from house to house. As a slight thaw 
had set in on New Year's Day of 1868, the pedestrians 
spent a ** good time " in the streets. 

In every reception-room in each house is a buffet, 
and the gentlemen are supposed to take a glass of 
something to wish the household prosperity and happi- 
ness on the coming year, a habit that is a little trying 
and inconvenient to men with a large circle of friends. 
Citizens who are teetotalers all the year round, yield 
to temptation on New Year's Day, and the effects of 
the Bourbon whiskey make themselves apparent early. 

Nobody is in the least shocked at these proceedings, 
and everything passes off with the utmost good-humour, 
the only ill effects being swelled heads the following 



THE ENTIRE CITY TAKES A "B. AND S." 205 

day, the whole city seeming to suffer from an un- 
quenchable thirst, allayed only by frequent potations 
of brandy -and- soda ; and as the ladies have to be 
recompensed for their labours of New Year's Day, the 
suffering cavaliers have to escort them to the theatres 
and other places of amusement ; the only persons 
benefiting by this arrangement being the managers and 
proprietors of the various houses of entertainment and 
the irrepressible ticket speculators. 

The few days' rest had a most beneficial effect on 
Mr. Dickens's cold, and the New Year's Readings 
passed off as successfully as the others. 

The tour list by this time being completed, I took 
advantage of the recess to perfect all my plans, as far 
as possible, for the execution of all matters of detail 
in connection with it; and as the checking and stamping 
of so vast a number of tickets formed no inconsiderable 
item in this respect, it became necessary to increase 
our staff of clerks. Some idea may be formed of their 
work, when it is stated that, in addition to the Readings 
announced for the first week in the New Year (in 
Boston and New York), I had to prepare for sale in 
the course of the next few weeks nine thousand tickets 
for Philadelphia, eight thousand for Brooklyn, eight 
thousand for Baltimore, and six thousand for Wash- 
ington. 

This work, in addition to the correspondence, looking 
after advertisements, account-keeping, travelling, and 



2o6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

visiting, with many minor matters of detail (together 
with my anxieties about Mr. Dickens's health), gave 
me but little rest, but it was a labour of love, and so it 
came comparatively easy. 

On Monday, January 13th, the real travelling of the 
tour commenced; and as the superintendence of the 
sale of tickets in each city visited became a matter 
requiring careful manipulation (in order to frustrate 
as much as possible the designs of the ticket specu- 
lators), it was arranged that I should, as far as was 
consistent with my being occasionally present at the 
Readings, take this department entirely under my own 
supervision. In order to enable me to do this, Mr. 
Osgood kindly undertook to *' mount guard" over the 
chief, and to attend to the duties of a travelling life. 
Accordingly, during the run of the two last Readings 
in Boston and New York, I went to Philadelphia and 
Brooklyn to sell the tickets for the Readings announced 
there; and rough as had been the crowd in New York, 
it was nothing in comparison with the crowds in these 
two places. 

Arriving in Philadelphia on Sunday evening, January 
5th, 1 went to one of the smaller and private hotels, 
for the New York speculators were in a body at the 
Continental Hotel, some twenty or thirty in number. 
The hotel I selected was an excellent inn, but a cir- 
cumstance occurred here which made me regret that I 
had not faced the band at the *' Continental." A supper 



THE MANAGER TAKES POISON TWICE. 207 

party with some friends was very enjoyable whilst it 
lasted, but the following morning's reflections were the 
reverse, for I became aware of the unpleasant fact that 
I had been poisoned : the symptoms being of a most 
unpleasant nature, a doctor was sent for, and in a 
comparatively short time I had sufficiently recovered 
to attend to my duties at the ticket-office at twelve the 
following day, having had to delay the sale of tickets 
for some hours. The cause of the poisoning was for 
some time a mystery, and would probably have remained 
so until now had not an American friend unravelled it. 
I had eaten some partridge at supper. The snow 
lying deep on the ground, the birds cannot get their 
usual food, and for the time being they subsist on some 
kind of berry which does not injure them, though the 
poison permeates their flesh, and harasses the persons 
who eat them. 

This discovery having been made only after I had 
been twice poisoned by partridge at supper, it is un- 
necessary to add that for the remainder of the winter 
in America a black line was drawn through the name 
of this delicate bird, whenever it was submited in a bill 
of fare. 

When I arrived at the Music Hall in Philadelphia 
to superintend the sale of the tickets, I found the 
usual line of speculators and purchasers. The weather 
was bitterly cold (the thermometer (Reaumur) being 
eighteen below zero) and the snow deep on the ground. 



2o8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

The straw mattresses, blankets, and whiskey bottles 
were there as usual (" George Washington " and all), 
but I noticed an unusual number of police and detec- 
tives in plain clothes. The doors of the ticket-office 
having been opened, a rush took place to secure the 
front seats, followed by a scrimmage between the police 
and the would-be purchasers. The former, with their 
batons, most unceremoniously routed the latter, whilst 
the " plain-clothes men " took their places in the line 
and turned speculators! This caused the greatest 
dissatisfaction, with the usual abusive correspondence 
in the newspapers, reflecting unpleasantly on myself, 
and connecting me with the ruse that had been played 
on the purchasers, of which I was quite innocent. So 
great was the demand for the tickets that they were all 
sold off in about three hours, and I was only too 
pleased to return to New York, to nurse myself and to 
prepare for the sale of tickets at Brooklyn, announced 
for two days afterwards. There were no drawing-room 
cars in those days on the New York and Philadelphia 
line, and the travelling for an invalid was anything 
but pleasant, fifty or sixty persons being closely packed 
in an ordinary car, with a great stove at each end 
almost at red heat, and no ventilation. The windows 
were closed, but a rush of cold air, with gusts of snow, 
smoke, and cinders from the locomotive, was continu- 
ally forced into the car by the incessant opening and 
shutting of the doors at either end by baggage-men, 



MR. BEECHER LENDS US HIS CHURCH. 209 

express-men, breakmen, and vendors of all sorts of 
articles, from sugar-candy to a newspaper, not to men- 
tion the passengers who are perpetually walking from 
one end of the train to the other, and seemingly taking 
a savage delight in banging the doors with all their 
force. In good health these drawbacks do not so much 
force themselves on the mind, but as I was ill the dis- 
comfort of that journey was indescribable, and so was 
the relief of finding myself again in the ferry-boat, 
plying from Jersey City to New York. 

The only available place for a Reading in Brooklyn 
was the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher's church (Plymouth 
Church), and by the courtesy of the reverend gentle- 
man this was secured; but a difficulty presented itself 
as to the manner in which the tickets had to be dis- 
tributed, and many were the suggestions offered with a 
view of overcoming this difficulty. 

In an ordinary hall or theatre the matter was 
comparatively simple, and I used my own discretion as 
to how few or how many tickets I issued to each 
person, but in a church, which was arranged in pews, 
each varying in its holding capacity, the difficulty 
seemed almost insurmountable. It was suggested that 
Mr. Beecher's system of disposing of the pews should 
be adopted, viz., to fix the price of each pew at the 
rate of two dollars a ticket (as a reserved price), and to 
sell the premium on each of the pews in the best posi- 
tions by auction. 



210 CHARLES DICKENS. 

This Mr. Dickens objected to as laying him open to 
grave charges in receiving more money for his tickets 
than the established rate. The only v^ay then was to 
sell the pews entire at the rate of two dollars each seat. 

This plan evidently gave the greatest satisfaction to 
the speculators and the public, and on my arrival at 
Brooklyn to sell the tickets, I was greeted with hearty 
cheers and a great deal of "chaff" by the mob in 
waiting. *' The noble army of speculators," as Mr. 
Dickens described them, were in greater force than 
ever. They had been in the line since ten the previous 
evening, and during the whole night had kept up an 
enormous bonfire in the street, sleeping around it in 
turns on their mattresses, and enjoying their supperr 
of bread-and-meat, with potations of Bourbon whiskey. 
Early in the morning, and just about daybreak, a 
body of police appeared on the scene, an idea having 
suddenly occurred to them that in a narrow street, 
composed entirely of wooden houses, a bonfire was a 
source of considerable danger to the whole of that part 
of the city. On my arrival there at eight o'clock in 
the morning, with my ticket clerks and the tickets 
packed in a small portmanteau, in Mr. Dickens's 
carnage, lent for the occasion, I was greeted with 
*' Holloa, Dolby!" *' How's Charley this morning?" 
** Look alive, old man 1" " Let me carry the portman- 
teau for you." "So he's trusted you with the carriage, 
has he?" "We're frozen to death waiting for you. 



A FIGHT FOR TICKETS. 2n 

and will buy you right upy carriage, horses, and all if 
you like — anything to get away from this darned cold." 

At this time the poHce made a raid on the bonfire, 
the mattresses, 'and speculators, and a terrific combat 
ensued, in which the people farthest off in the line took 
the most prominent part, until they saw that those 
nearest the door were being routed, and then with 
broken heads and bleeding noses rushed into the good 
places, bringing with them their mattresses, and hang- 
ing on to the iron railings round the church to keep 
possession of the places they had so gallantly fought 
for. The New Yorkers got the worst of the fight, and 
the Brooklyn men got the best of the tickets. Many 
arrests were made, and amongst the arrested ones was 
poor old " George Washington,** who, however, was 
*Met off" on promising not to come to Brooklyn any 
more for ticket speculation, certainly in tickets for 
Readings in a church. 

The plan I had decided on adopting for the sale of 
the tickets in the church was a little more tedious 
than the plan adopted at other sales, and the pur- 
chasers would have been great sufferers from the cold, 
but for their ardour in the matter. This sale in about 
four hours produced nearly $20,000, and I returned to 
New York to meet Mr. Dickens on his arrival from 
Boston, to give him an account of the morning's 
proceedings. 

Although appreciative of the humorous side of 

8 



212 CHARLES DICKENS. 

these transactions, he always entertained an opinion 
that the speculators' trade would eventually tell against 
the receipts of the Reading, and but for the precautions 
we had taken in the change of our route, " closing up," 
as it were, in New York and Boston at the right time, 
and only revisiting those places for the farewell Read- 
ings, such would undoubtedly have been the case. The 
public would not protect themselves, as they could 
have done in refusing to pay the exorbitant demands 
of the speculators, and without taking the trouble to 
go to the root of the evil, abused the system of selling 
tickets which I had adopted. 

Our arrangements did not give satisfaction to the 
public, and great were the complaints in the news- 
papers when the discovery was made that there were 
to be no more Readings in New York until the middle 
of April. 

The visit to Philadelphia was a successful one in 
every way, and although Mr. Dickens was again suffer- 
ing from the effects of a fresh attack of influenza, 
produced undoubtedly by standing with the breakman 
outside the cars in travelling, in the hope of getting rid 
of the noxious air inside the car, still everything was 
done by our friends in the city to make him forget the 
inconvenience from which he was suffering. Mr. and 
Mrs. Barney Williams were staying at the Continental 
Hotel with their pretty little " child daughter,'* who 
was a source of the greatest amusement to Mr. 



PROFITS OF THE FIRST COURSE, i;io,ooo. 213 

Dickens, and Mr. George William Childs, the pro- 
prietor of the ''Philadelphia Ledger," and the American 
correspondent of the London *' Times," was indefatig- 
able in endeavours to entertain him. 

It may truly be said that, notwithstanding the 
discomfort, the first Philadelphia visit was always 
regarded as amongst the pleasantest of our American 
experiences. 

Prior to our visit to Philadelphia, Mr. Osgood had 
prepared a statement of his accounts, up to and in- 
cluding the date of the last Reading given in New 
York, which completed a little over a quarter of the 
number intended to be given in America. After paying 
all the preliminary expenses of every kind, on my 
return to New York on January 15th, I had been able 
to remit to Messrs. Coutts's Bank in London, to the 
credit of Mr. Dickens, ;fio,ooo, and had over £1,000 in 
hand after doing this " to go on with." 

Although Mr. Dickens was totally devoid of avarice, 
he could not but be well pleased at the result of his 
labours thus far ; and this circumstance, together with 
the cheery news he had received from his friends, 
Wilkie Collins and Fechter, of the success of the 
dramatisation of his Christmas number ('* No Tho- 
roughfare "), at the Adelphi Theatre, all had the effect 
of putting him into excellent spirits for the return to 
New York for the Brooklyn Readings. In writing to 
his friend Fields from Philadelphia before leaving 



214 CHARLES DICKENS, 

there he says: "The cold remains just as it was 
(beastly), and where it was (in my head). We have 
left off referring to the hateful subject, except in 
emphatic sniffs on my part, convulsive wheezes, and 
resounding sneezes. Philadelphia audiences ready and 
bright. I think they understood the ' Carol ' better 
than ' Copperfield,' but they were bright and responsive 
to both. Dolby is in Washington, and will return in 
the night. Osgood is ' on guard.' He made a most 
brilliant appearance before the Philadelphia public and 
looked very hard at them. The mastery of his eye 
diverted their attention from his boots, charming in 
themselves, but (unfortunately) two left ones I '* 

There was a novelty in the Brooklyn Readings, inas- 
much as they were given in a church, and unusual 
means had to be resorted to in order to render the 
platform available for the purpose. The pulpit was in 
the way and had to be removed, and so had the reading- 
desk — alterations which Mr. Beecher obligingly allowed 
to be made. Although an enormous building, and 
capable of holding over two thousand people, Mr. 
Dickens pronounced it to be perfection ; and although 
his influenza (by this time dignified with the title 
" American catarrh," which he always said he hoped, 
for the comfort of human nature, was peculiar to only 
one of the four quarters of the world) had taken such 
hold on him, he found it scarcely required an effort to 
speak in it. At one of the Readings Mr. Beecher him- 



MR. DICKENS MEETS MR. BEECHER. 215 

self was present, and paid Mr. Dickens a visit in the 
vestry on its termination, much to Mr. Dickens' 
satisfaction; and to judge by the congratulations which 
were exchanged, the meeting was one of pleasure to 
both. Of course I have no idea what Mr. Beecher's 
sentiments with regard to Mr. Dickens may have been, 
but those of Mr. Dickens for Mr. Beecher were ex- 
pressed in the following words : *' I found him an 
unostentatious, evidently able, straightforward, and 
agreeable man ; extremely well informed, and with a 
good knowledge of art." 

During our stay in New York for the Brooklyn 
Readings, Mr. Horace Greeley had accepted an invita- 
tion to dine with Mr. Dickens at the Westminster 
Hotel on Saturday, January i8th ; and in expressing 
his delight at the success of the Readings took occasion 
to question the advisability of Mr. Dickens reading in 
Washington, giving as his reasons that the political 
horizon was a little hazy, and that " trouble " with the 
President (Andrew Johnson) might accrue at any 
moment, in addition to which the " rowdy " element 
was more largely represented than usual in the city 
at that moment, in view of the supposed difficulties 
with the President. It was his opinion also that the 
"rowdies" would make themselves obnoxious to Mr. 
Dickens. I had just returned from Washington, and 
had secured the only available hall there (the Carol 
Hall), which held but seven hundred and fifty or 



2i6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

eight hundred people, and intended charging five 
dollars a ticket for the Washington Readings ; a pro- 
ceeding Mr. Dickens disapproved of at first, but to 
which he eventually yielded on my pointing out to 
him that there were more people in New York, Boston, 
Philadelphia, and Brooklyn than there were in Wash- 
ington, and that these people on an average paid (thanks 
to the " noble army of speculators ") that price to hear 
him in those cities. As to the " rowdy " element, I 
thought nothing of that, for in my experience they 
were too much occupied in ** bar-loafing" and *' office- 
seeking " to part with such a sum as five dollars to 
gratify an imaginary wrong, even if they had ever heard 
of it, or, what was more improbable, if they had read 
the books to which Horace Greeley referred. My argu- 
ments had their effect both with Mr. Dickens and Mr. 
Greeley, and nothing more would have been thought or 
said on the matter had not an influential friend and 
politician paid us a visit later on in the evening, who 
reiterated Horace Greeley's fears. It was arranged 
that I should go to Washington the following night, to 
judge (if possible) for myself as to the chances of any 
difficulty in the event of Mr. Dickens visiting Wash- 
ington, the matter being left entirely in my hands 
either to go on with the arrangements there or to give 
the place up entirely. On re-visiting Washington, I 
became convinced (thanks to the assistance I received 
in my inquiries from Mr. Franklin Philp, a gentleman 



WASHINGTON WILL DO. 217 

whose knowledge of Washington was indisputable) that 
Mr. Greeley's fears were groundless, the only alteration 
in the original plan for that place being that I (under 
pressure) resolved in making the price of the tickets 
three dollars instead of five dollars, a result that I 
telegraphed to Mr. Dickens ; and took advantage of his 
absence to slip off to Chicago to make arrangements 
for that place (only to be re-called at Pittsburg), 
joining him again in Philadelphia, after calling at 
Baltimore to sell the tickets for four Readings an- 
nounced for that city. 




CHAPTER VIIL 

FUTHER AMERICAN EXPERIENCES. 

|N my return to Philadelphia, I found Mr. 
Dickens still suffering so much, that he 
was compelled to decline all offers of 
hospitality tendered to him by his friends 
in Philadelphia ; feeling that if he took advantage of 
these offers, he would be totally unfit for the labour of 
the Readings. In his weak state of health, he was 
desirous of seeing me, to confer as to the advisability of 
taking so long a journey as that to Chicago, a distance 
of nearly fifteen hundred miles. He also had fears as 
to my staying power, or, as he expressed it in a letter 
to his son (Mr. Charles Dickens), *' If Dolby holds out 
well to the last it will be a triumph, for he has to see 
everybody, to drink with everybody, sell all the tickets, 
take all the blame, and go beforehand to all the places 
on the list. I shall not see him after to-night for ten 
days or a fortnight, and he will be perpetually on the 
road during the interval.'* 



CHICAGO THREATENS TO GO INTO FITS. 219 

What he underwent from the effects of his cold, it is 
impossible to describe. He could not sleep at night, 
and rarely, if ever, got up before twelve o'clock in the 
day. He had to abandon his breakfast, and dine at 
three, and could take no food until after the work of 
the evening was over, and then only something very 
light, in the shape of quail or a devilled bone. The 
champagne had to be given up during the Readings, 
and in its place I prepared an egg beaten up in sherry 
for him every night, to take between the parts ; this 
seemed to do him good, and to refresh him wonderfully. 

The abandonment of the Western journey caused the 
greatest disappointment and annoyance to the Chicago 
public, as indeed it did to all the friends of the great 
Western country, amongst them Mr. Childs, of Phila- 
delphia; who, in his desire to impress on Mr. Dickens 
the importance of visiting Chicago, said that if he did 
not read in that city " the people would go into fits," 
to which Mr. Dickens replied that he would rather they 
went into " fits " than that he did. 

The Baltimore sale of tickets took place in the same 
bitter cold weather as those of Brooklyn and Phila- 
delphia, but was a remarkably quiet one by reason of 
the absence of the New York speculators, who had but 
little faith in the success of the enterprise in Baltimore. 
The results, however, proved that the New Yorkers 
were wrong. The hall I had taken was the Concordia 
Hall, which gave Mr. Dickens the greatest pleasure, 



220 CHARLES DICKENS. 

being built like a theatre. The public, too, were quite 
to his liking, being a bright, responsive people. 

Not only were Chicago and the West abandoned, but 
also the Readings in Canada and those in Nova Scotia, 
the latter in consequence of the withdrawal of the 
Halifax steamer from that port by the Cunard Com- 
pany. The tour list had again to be changed, and in 
view of Mr. Dickens's continued ill-health, the number 
of Readings had to be considerably reduced. An idea 
struck us (Mr. Osgood and myself), that a walking 
match between ourselves, to take place at the end of 
February, in Boston, would be a source of amusement 
to Mr. Dickens. He entered heartily into the scheme, 
volunteering to draw up the articles of agreement, to 
act as trainer, and to write a " sporting narrative " of 
the match after it had taken place. The match was 
fixed to take place in Boston, on Saturday, February 
29th. *' Beginning this design in joke," he writes, 
speaking of Osgood and myself, " they have become 
tremendously in earnest, and Dolby has actually sent 
home (much to his opponent's terror) for a pair of seam- 
less socks to walk in. Our people are hugely excited 
on the subject, and continually make bets on *the men.' 
Fields and I are to walk out six miles, and * the men * 
are to turn and walk round us. Neither of them has 
the least idea what twelve miles at a pace is. Being 
requested by both to give them a breather yesterday, I 
gave them a stiff one of five miles over a bad road, in 



MANAGER AND ANOTHER GO INTO TRAINING. 221 

the snow. I took them at a pace of four and a half 
miles an hour, and you never beheld such objects as 
they were when we got back — both smoking like 
factories, and both obliged to change everything before 
they could come to dinner. They have the absurdest 
ideas of what are tests of walking power, and continually 
get up in the maddest manner to see how high they can 
kick the wall— the wainscot here in one place is scored 
all over with their pencil marks. To see them doing 
this—Dolby a big man, and Osgood a very little one— 
is 'ridiculous beyond description.'" 

If we had been professional pedestrians, instead of 
amateurs, Mr. Dickens could not have paid more 
attention to our ''coaching" for the great event. 

During our stay at Baltimore, I received a visit from 
the Governor of the Maryland Penitentiary, who, know- 
ing the interest taken by Mr. Dickens in prison matters 
in England, was anxious to conduct him over the estab- 
lishment under his control; an invitation which Mr. 
Dickens accepted with the greatest readiness, especially 
as the governor had given me to understand that this 
prison was regarded as the model prison of the States. 
Our reception by the governor and his officials was 
all that could be desired— the governor himself acting 
as guide— and as the prison happened to be more than 
usually full at the time of our visit, it became doubly 
interesting, as illustrating the system adopted in it. All 
the prisoners were allowed to work at their trade, not 



222 CHARLES DICKENS. 

confined in separate cells as in England, but in comfort- 
able workshops provided for them, these workshops 
being warmed by large stoves and hot-water pipes. 
Some prisoners were brush-making, boot-making, 
tailoring, and mat-making, and in one large carpenter's 
workshop there were as many as fifty men (and amongst 
them half a dozen men convicted of murder), busily 
engaged making door-frames, panels for doors, window- 
frames, &c., having the free use of the usual carpenter's 
tools, and with no guard over them other than one 
warder (in plain clothes, and smoking cigars the whole 
time), perched up at a high desk with no other means 
of defence (in the event of an emeute) than a six- 
barrelled revolver. It must be explained that at the 
time of Mr. Dickens' second visit to America, there 
was a strong feeling against capital punishment for 
murder, as indeed there is at the present time; and that 
these murderers, although sentenced to be hanged, had 
by some peculiar vagary of the law been respited during 
the pleasure of the Government. On inquiry, we as- 
certained that the warder was not placed there so much 
for the purpose of preserving order, as to prevent the 
prisoners from making an improper use of the materials 
supplied them for their trade, notably those who had a 
talent in working in metals, making hinges, locks, &c.; 
for, as a result of experience, it had been discovered 
that these worthies applied such materials, *'on the sly," 
to the manufacturing of skeleton keys, with which they 



A MODEL AMERICAN GAOL. 223 

supplied their friends in the burglary trade *' outside," 
on visiting days. 

A strict account was kept with each prisoner of 
the result of his labours, one-third of the proceeds 
going towards his own maintenance whilst in prison, a 
third for the support of his family during his ** absence" 
from home, and the remaining third was safely banked 
as a reserve fund for his own use when the time arrived 
for his liberation. This arrangement, which at the time 
gave the greatest dissatisfaction to the legitimate trades- 
men in Baltimore, as the prison labour being untram- 
melled by rent or taxes, became a strong opposition 
and competitive agency with the honest and industrious 
shopkeeper or manufacturer; and as the winter was 
unusually severe, and in consequence work was very 
scarce, the extraordinary number of inmates in the 
house was fully accounted for, especially as the scale 
of dietary was most liberal. The *' long term " prisoners 
and the murderers had a capital bill of fare (for a prison), 
— cocoa, coffee, or tea, with a choice of fish and bread- 
and-butter for breakfast; soup and meat for dinner; 
and cocoa, coffee, or tea, with bread-and-butter, for 
supper. The " short term" men were supposed not to re- 
quire so much, and their bill of fare was less sumptuous, 
although far more luxurious than the condition of affairs 
would seem to warrant, especially as the number of 
inmates of this class was far in excess of either workshop 
room or tool appliances, to enable them to earn anything. 



224 CHARLES DICKENS. 

This struck us very much when we were conducted 
into a large room in which were over five hundred un- 
employed men, all seated on forms arranged like the 
seats in a lecture room, with a passage-way up the 
centre for the warders — cigar in mouth and revolver in 
belt — to promenade up and down. (Negroes on one side 
of the room and white folks on the other, the whites 
refusing to associate with the niggers.) The heat of 
this room was insufferable, and as the prisoners had 
no work to do they were not allowed to talk, but at 
intervals between meal times were allowed to sing, the 
whole presenting such a scene of depression and misery 
that it was a source of the greatest relief to us to be 
once more in the comfortable quarters of the governor, 
to smoke a cigar, and to have a talk with him about 
the lenient system he was introducing, in the hope of 
diminishing crime in the State of Maryland. 

Looking over some of the prison books, Mr. Dickens 
noticed the word ** pardoned" against the name of 
every man, a few days, and in some cases weeks and 
months, before his term of sentence had expired. The 
governor explained, '* If he had served his term out, 
the prisoner would have been disfranchised and the 
State would have lost the votes ! " 

The governor was desirous of knowing how his 
establishment compared with the prisons in England, 
and was surprised to find that nothing of the kind was 
in existence there. Mr. Dickens remarked at the same 



THE BALTIMORE HOTELS. 225 

time that the Maryland Penitentiary was more like a 
*' huge hydropathic establishment, without the privilege 
of going out for a walk," a tribute which gave the kind- 
hearted governor such an amount of satisfaction, that 
on our return to the hotel (after two hours' training for 
the walking match), we found handsome presents, the 
product of prison labour, awaiting us. 

Nothing has been said about the Baltimore hotels, 
neither would any reference to them be necessary except 
for the benefit of any one who has never visited Balti- 
more, and who might propose doing so. But for Mr. 
Dickens' state of health, he would undoubtedly have 
stayed at Barnum's Hotel, then, as now, the oldest and 
one of the best and most liberally conducted in the 
South ; but it was considered prudent to put up at a 
smaller and more private house. This hotel was 
** Guy's," where I found I could secure a sufficient 
number of rooms for our requirements, en suite, and be 
out of the way of the noise and turmoil of a larger 
hotel, and where I could get more care and attention 
in the preparation of delicacies with which to tempt 
Mr. Dickens's appetite — such delicacies as are not to 
be appreciated in any other city in the world, Baltimore 
being the home of the far-famed canvas-back duck, the 
terrapin, and the Blue Point oyster. These luxuries 
are to be found in other parts of America, but away 
from Baltimore (or perhaps Washington) they are not 
the same, and to the gourmet it is almost worth while 



226 CHARLES DICKENS. 

to make a pilgrimage to this city, to indulge in these 
freaks of nature, either at Barnum's Hotel, or*' Guy's," 
where there is an excellent restaurant. 

During the visit to Baltimore, I went to Washington 
(a journey of only about an hour and a quarter) to 
superintend the sale of the tickets for the Readings 
there, returning to Baltimore after transacting this 
business. There being no speculators here from New 
York, everything passed off quietly, and it was satis- 
factory to find no evidences of either ** rowdyism " or 
discontent on the part of the public at the raised prices. 
My only regret was that I did not adhere to my original 
plan of charging five dollars a ticket instead of three 
dollars. The receipts in Washington did not come up 
to the average of other large cities in America, but 
there was full compensation in the associations of the 
place, which would have been greatly enhanced had 
the climate of Washington been a little more genial, 
and had Mr. Dickens been less a sufferer than he was 
from the effects of his *' American catarrh." 

His spirit and determination were of the most in- 
domitable character, and under the most trying cir- 
cumstances he would be the most cheerful. On many 
occasions in America, I had been fearful that he would 
not be able to give his Readings, and but for my know- 
ledge of him and his power of *' coming up to time " 
when *' time " was called, I should often have despaired 
of his physical capacity. It was only by a most careful 



THE CHIEFS HEALTH ALARMS US. 227 

observation that any one could form any idea of the 
extent of his sufferings, for he made it a rule, in the 
unselfishness of his nature, never to inflict his own 
inconveniences on any one else ; and as for the public, 
he held it as a maxim that " No man had a right to 
break an engagement with the public if he were able 
to be out of bed." 

Ashe had lost all appetite, took little or no food, and 
could not sleep for more than three or four hours out of 
the twenty-four, I was greatly embarrassed to know 
what to do for the best with regard to an hotel in 
Washington. Willard's Hotel was closed, and even if 
it had not been, with its clientele of bar-loafers, swag- 
gerers, drunkards, and " axe grinders " (a class of 
politician pecuUar to Washington hotels), it would not 
have been the place for Mr. Dickens in his state of 
health, which demanded that he should have peace and 
quietude, with the greatest amount of comfort attainable. 

All the other hotels were inconveniently situated, and 
presented the same undesirable features as "Willard's" 
did, so in my extremity I took my friend Franklin 
Philp into my counsels, as to the advisability of taking 
a furnished house for our whole staff, during our stay in 
Washington. It being High Session, this could not be 
satisfactorily arranged, and although invitations were 
not wanting, Mr. Dickens's rule of accepting no in- 
vitations to stay with friends precluded his acceptance 
of them, for he said, '' I came for hard work, and I 



228 CHARLES DICKENS. 

must try to fulfil the expectations of the American 
public." 

Mr. Philp was equal to this occasion, as indeed he 
was to almost any occasion, and after tendering the 
offer of his establishment to Mr. Dickens, Mr. Osgood 
and myself did the very best thing possible under 
the circumstances, by making an arrangement with 
Mr. Whelcker (a German), the proprietor of the best 
restaurant in the city, who re-furnished some of his 
private dining-rooms to suit our requirements ; and 
as the house was a comparatively small one, and 
we had one wing entirely to ourselves, with excellent 
French waiters and a cuisine that would have done 
credit to Champot or Vachette in Paris, or Delmonico 
in New York, I congratulated myself on the discovery, 
and was grateful to Franklin Philp for the interest he 
had taken in the matter. Mr. Dickens was highly 
pleased with the arrangement, and everything looked 
well for a pleasant week in Washington, during which 
I had no travelling, save for a couple of days, during 
which I had sales of tickets in Baltimore and Phila- 
delphia for the final farewell Readings there ; and with 
the exception of having to attend to the ordinary 
routine of our travelling life, had very little to do but 
to avail myself of the goods the Washington gods 
provided, and to give my attention to training for the 
great " walking match," in which Mr. Dickens took so 
much interest. 



THERE IS NO REST FOR THE MANAGER. 229 

I had one more journey to make before entering 
on this week's pleasure, viz., to New York, to attend 
to some business matters there. It was far from a 
pleasant experience, as there were considerable doubts 
as to the possibility of getting through, for another 
heavy snow - storm had occurred, and the road 
in some places was supposed to be ** blocked ; '* 
but beyond the inconvenience of arriving at my 
journey's end some hours late, no other annoyance 
was felt. Mr. Dickens, always solicitous for my safety 
and comfort, writes on January 30th : " The com- 
munication with New York is not interrupted, so 
we consider the zealous Dolby all right. You may 
imagine what his work is, when you hear that he goes 
three times to every place we visit. Firstly, to look 
at the hall, arrange the numberings, and make five 
hundred acquaintances, whom he immediately calls 
by their Christian names ; secondly, to sell the tickets 
— a very nice business requiring great tact and temper; 
thirdly, with me. Pie will probably turn up at 
Washington next Sunday, but only for a little while ; 
for as soon as I am on the platform on Monday night, 
he will start away again, probably to be seen no more 
until we pass through New York in the middle of 
February.'* 

Mr. Dickens at the time of writing this had no idea 
of my intention of spending as much of the week with 
him as I could spare ; indeed he knew nothing of my 



230 CHARLES DICKENS. 

intended movements at any time, giving me carte 
blanche to do as I liked, and never questioning any 
of my acts with regard to business matters. He never 
gave me an order to do anything in connection with 
our affairs, but always suggested his wishes by saying, 
'* Don't you think we had better do," &c., and if on 
any occasion I consulted him in times of difficulty, 
his frequent reply was, *' Do as you like, and don't 
bother me." 

As he conjectured, I returned to Washington by the 
Sunday night train from New York, to find him com- 
pletely prostrate with his cold, and on hearing of my 
decision to spend the greater portion of the week with 
him, he expressed his pleasure, especially as his birth- 
day would occur during the week, and he was anxious 
to have me with him for the occasion, so that our 
domesticity might not be entirely broken up, away 
from all he loved. Great were the preparations, in 
which Mr. Osgood vied with myself to make the 
coming February 7th a pleasurable day to him, with 
the slight drawback of having to appear before an 
audience on the evening of the day, instead of receiving 
his friends at our apartments at Whelcker's Restaurant 
— where, as in New York and Boston, everything was 
done by the proprietor in the hope of tickling his 
appetite by the preparation of some delicate dish, but 
all to no avail. 

I found on my arrival in Washington, on talking 



MR. SECRETARY STAUNTON AND HIS MEMORY. 231 

matters over at the breakfast table, that Mr. Dickens 
had been compelled to break his rule as laid down, 
and had accepted an invitation from Mr. Charles 
Sumner (an old friend of his), to dine with him on that 
Sunday evening, and had stipulated that there was 
to be no party. The only other persons present were 
Mr. Secretary Staunton (War Minister) and Mr. 
Sumner's private secretary; and although Mr. Staunton 
had been previously unknown to him, Mr. Dickens was 
greatly interested in his new acquaintance, who was 
gifted with a remarkable memory, and famous for his 
knowledge of Mr. Dickens's works. 

The Chief being out for the evening, Mr. Osgood and 
I were left together to compare notes as to business 
matters that had transpired during my absence; and 
Mr. Osgood's account of Mr. Dickens's health was such 
as to cause me the greatest anxiety, and make me feel 
glad that I had changed the plan of the tour, by giving 
up the idea of going West. 

On Mr. Dickens's return, he gave us a most interest- 
ing account of the way he had spent his evening at the 
house of his friend Mr. Sumner. He was specially 
pleased with his intercourse with Mr. Staunton, who 
on being started with a chapter from any of Mr. 
Dickens's books, could repeat the whole of the chapter 
from memory, and, as the author confessed, knew more 
about his works than he himself did. This was 
accounted for by the fact that during the war, when 



232 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Mr. Staunton was Commander-in-Chief of the Northern 
forces, he never went to bed at night without first read- 
ing something from one of Mr. Dickens's books, a habit 
which engraved them on his memory. 

The Washington Readings were amongst the most 
brilliant of any given in America. At the first Read- 
ing every class of society was represented, the Presi- 
dent himself being present, with his family, and not 
only the English ambassador, but all the ambassadors 
representing other countries, and a large proportion 
of Congressmen, and those connected with the Legis- 
lative Assembly. Under these circumstances, it is 
not surprising that the Carol Hall presented a spectacle 
which would have been perfect, but for the badness 
of the gas. This caused Mr. Dickens to depart from 
his usual rule, by making a preliminary speech, in 
which he said that he must trust to the brightness 
of the faces before him for the illumination of his own. 
Expectation was on its tiptoe, whatever that might 
be, and Mr. Dickens had partially recovered from the 
effects of his cold, a change produced possibly by the 
geniality of the Washington climate on this particular 
day; although it must not be understood that the 
climate of Washington is always genial, for as a rule 
in the winter season, the four seasons are represented 
within the twenty-four hours, a fact which caused poor 
John Brougham to remark that, "in Washington, 
there was a Congress of climates, as well as a Congress 
of legislators." 



THE CONGRESSMAN WHO HAD DINED. 233 

Here, a slightly unpleasant incident occurred. A 
member of Congress, a military man of high dis- 
tinction, had partaken rather too freely of the good 
things of this life at dinner, before coming to the 
Reading, and this preliminary exhilaration had the 
effect of creating in him a bad attack of anglo- 
phobia. As was my habit, I was talking to Mr. 
Dickens behind the screen, the house being by this 
time quite full, and all the people in their seats, when 
our attention was attracted by an unseemly noise in 
the body of the hall. One of the assistants rushed 
round to me, requesting my presence in the front of 
the house (before Mr. Dickens made his appearance), 
and I was ushered into the presence of the military 
gentleman, who was indulging in language not usual 
in good society. Being personally known to a great 
many people in the hall, my presence was hailed with, 
" Quite right, Mr. Dolby, we are very glad to see you 
here; this man is making use of language not fit 
for ears polite. If he is allowed to remain in his seat, 
the Reading will be spoilt." I remonstrated with the 
obnoxious person, and requested him to leave the hall. 
He pleaded that he meant no offence, offering the 
excuse for what he had said, that he had been dining 
with some friends, and scarcely knew what he was 
about, and he distinctly refused to leave his place, 
promising not to repeat the disturbance. I had taken 
the precaution to place two policemen in the hall, at 



234 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the far end, with instructions to them to come to my 
assistance if necessary. As the military person refused 
to leave I had no other course left, but to call the 
policemen, and order them to remove him. The sight 
of the constables had the effect of subduing the dis- 
turber's ardour, and so, to ensure his good behaviour, 
I arranged that a policeman should sit on each side of 
him, with instructions that, if he moved hand or foot, 
or raised his voice, he was to be immediately ejected. 
Having done this, I went back to Mr. Dickens, and 
told him that all was quiet, and that he could com- 
mence his Reading. 

His reception was most enthusiastic, and as he 
afterwards said, *' resembled more the receptions given 
him by Manchester shillings, instead of Washington 
half-sovereigns." The Reading was the *' Christmas 
Carol,'* and after the pause at the end of the first 
chapter, the military gentleman seemed to have had 
enough of it, and looking on either side of him at his 
guardians, decided that, after all, Readings were not 
in his line, and rolling more like a ship at sea, than 
a human being leaving a hall of well-dressed people, 
he retired amidst the jeers and laughter of the 
assembly to their imrnense satisfaction. 

After this came the canine comedy which Mr. Dickens 
has himself described. By some means or another, a 
stray, comical-looking dog had contrived to force his 
way into the hall, unseen by the police and the ushers 



DOG. 235 

in attendance. During the Reading of a comic portion 
of the " Carol," this dog suddenly made his appearance 
from under the front seat, and stared intently at Mr. 
Dickens. It was fortunate that this happened during 
a comic scene, or Mr. Dickens, with his love of 
humour, would have had his gravity considerably 
upset, feeling sure, as he did, that the dog would take 
advantage of any applause that might ensue, to set 
up a bark. The public being too intent on the reader, 
did not notice the dog; but one of the ushers observing 
him, took an early opportunity of having the dog 
removed, a process which was quietly effected; but 
a little later the animal contrived to return to his 
former position, where he indulged in a prolonged 
howl, as if in great pain. This had such a ridiculous 
effect on Mr. Dickens, that he could not help laughing. 
Everybody laughed, but the dog was most uncere- 
moniously ejected, receiving miscellaneous kicks and 
raps over the head from sticks and umbrellas. Strange 
to say, he returned the next night, but on his way into 
the hall, he indiscreetly knocked his head against Mr. 
Osgood's leg. That gentleman was too quick for the 
dog ; seizing him with both his hands, he threw him 
over his shoulder, and he was caught like a ball at 
a cricket match by the ushers, and passed on from one 
to another, until he found himself in the street. 

He was not, however, to be got rid of in this manner, 
for on the occasion of the third Reading he came again* 



236 CHARLES DICKENS. 

accompanied by another dog ; but the staff were on the 
look-out for him, and he did not get in, much to his 
disappointment, for, as Mr. Dickens said, "he had 
evidently promised to pass the other dog free." 

Not the least pleasant episode connected with our 
sojourn at Washington, was a private audience given to 
Mr. Dickens by the President (Mr. Andrew Johnson). 
He, with his family, had been present at all the Read- 
ings, and had twice requested Mr. Dickens's presence 
at the White House. On the first occasion this was 
rendered impossible by reason of a previous engage- 
ment ; but, on the second occasion, Mr. Dickens and 
myself had the honour of waiting on him. Our cards 
being sent in to the President by his secretary, we were 
kept waiting in the ante-room of his private audience- 
chamber but a very few moments, during which we 
were able to note the simplicity with which this 
apartment was furnished, being greatly amused by a 
printed notice, stuck upon the walls of the chamber, 
requesting gentlemen to " kindly use the spittoons." 

We were most cordially received by the President, 
who seemed to be impressed by the presence of his 
distinguished visitor, and for some moments sat looking 
at him, as if uncertain how to commence a conver- 
sation. He warmed up, however, in congratulatory 
expressions as to the effect the Readings had produced 
on him. This gave Mr. Dickens an opportunity of 
saying a few kindly words to his distinguished host, 



AN AUDIENCE OF THE PRESIDENT. 237 

touching lightly on political matters, which just then 
were assuming rather a serious aspect, resulting 
eventually in the well-known impeachment of Andrew 
Johnson. 

Many bitter things had been said by the political 
enemies of the President as to his habits of life, 
especially his alleged intemperance, all of which, to 
judge by his appearance and frank manner, were 
unjust. In a letter to Mr. Fields, Mr. Dickens gave 
his opinion of Andrew Johnson : 

** I was very much surprised by the President's 
face and manner. It is, in its way, one of the most 
remarkable faces I have ever seen. Not imaginative, 
but very powerful in its firmness (or, perhaps, obsti- 
nacy), strength of will, and steadiness of purpose. 
There is a reticence in it, too, curiously at variance 
with that first unfortunate speech of his. A man not 
to be turned or trifled with. A man (I should say) who 
must be killed to be got out of the way. His manner 
is perfectly composed. We looked at one another 
pretty hard. There was an air of chronic anxiety upon 
him ; but not a crease or a ruffle in his dress, and his 
papers were as composed as himself.'* 

On leaving the President, after a most agreeable 
interview, Mr. Dickens was met by Sir Edward Thorn- 
ton, who had arrived in a State sleigh, to present his 
credentials as English Ambassador; and in the ante- 
room adjoining the President's audience-chamber was 



238 CHARLES DICKENS. 

an old friend of Mr. Dickens's awaiting an audience. 
This was General Blair, who so greatly distinguished 
himself during the war. This meeting was particularly 
pleasant to Mr. Dickens, being the means of renewing 
an acquaintance formed twenty-five years previously, on 
the prairies. 

The day chosen for the interview with the President 
was Friday, February 7th, Mr. Dickens's birthday, 
which, at its commencement, did not bid fair to be a 
very happy one, for the ** catarrh " was worse than 
ever, and but for the appointment at the White House, 
the day would undoubtedly have been spent by Mr. 
Dickens in his room. But his indomitable courage here 
again came to the fore, and he bestirred himself as 
usual to keep his engagement. 

The occasion was to have been kept a secret, but by 
some means the newspapers got wind of it, and so from 
.early morning visitors were continually calling with 
letters of congratulation, cards, birthday presents, and 
baskets of the most exquisite flowers, with which our 
room was literally covered. Telegrams and letters, 
radiant with good wishes from far-off places all over the 
country kept pouring in, and amongst these was a 
cablegram to myself from Ross, in Herefordshire, 
announcing the birth of a son. Mr. Dickens declared 
that the christening of the youngster ought to be post- 
poned until after our return to England, that he might 
stand sponsor to him; a wish that was gratefully appre- 



THE CHIEFS BIRTHDAY. 239 

ciated as another proof of the affectionate regard he 
had for me and mine. 

In the afternoon, amongst other distinguished per- 
sons who called to offer their congratulations, was Mr. 
Charles Sumner, who, being an old friend, was admitted 
into Mr. Dickens's apartments, to find him covered 
with mustard poultices and apparently voiceless. Mr. 
Sumner, turning to me, said — 

** Surely, Mr. Dolby, you are not going to allow Mr. 
Dickens to read to-night ? '* 

I assured him it was not a question of my " allowing" 
him to do so, but a question of Mr. Dickens's deter- 
mination to read if he were alive. 

** I have told Mr. Dickens," I said, "at least a 
dozen times to-day, that it will be impossible for him 
to read ; and but for my knowledge of him and of his 
wonderful power of changing when he gets to the little 
table, I should be even more anxious about him than I 
am. 

I was right in my conjecture, for he had not 
faced his audience five minutes before, as usual, his 
powers returned to him, and he went through his 
evening's task as if he had been in the most robust 
health. The frequent experience of this return of 
power, when called upon, was a source of the greatest 
consolation to Mr. Dickens, and saved him a great deal 
of anxiety ; and as his general health was not in the least 
affected by the ''catarrh," it was very satisfactory to 



240 CHARLES DICKENS. 

his friends that matters were no worse. The great fear 
for the time being was that his strength would give way, 
in which case he would have sunk altogether, especially 
as he had contracted the habit of taking little or no 
food, and suffered from sleepless nights. 

None of these drawbacks were perceptible to the 
general public, when Mr. Dickens made his appearance 
before them, and as audiences vary in their aspect, in 
the same way as does a landscape under the influence 
of sun or cloud, so was Mr. Dickens affected by the 
appearance of his audience, which on this occasion was 
worthy of the day they came to honour. Some unknown 
hands had gained possession of the hall during the 
day, and had decorated it, especially the little table, 
with costly flowers. Amongst the audience were the 
President's family, Ambassadors, Secretaries of State, 
Judges of the Supreme Court, the naval and military 
authorities in full uniform, and every notability in 
Washington, with a perfect bouquet of ladies, whose 
toilettes resembled those of a State ball or of a grand 
night at the opera. These circumstances all helped to 
distract Mr. Dickens's mind from his own immediate 
sufferings, and when the cheering had subsided, it was 
only to those who knew him the best that there was 
any lack of voice even in the few first words he 
uttered. 

When the Reading was over, the whole audience 
stood and cheered, the ladies throwing their bouquets 



« GOOD-BYE 1" 241 

to him, and the gentlemen the *' button-hole " flowers 
out of their coats, causing Mr. Dickens to return to the 
platform to make a little speech of grateful acknow- 
ledgment, which was highly appreciated by his 
audience. 

The following day (our last in Washington) was 
spent in the reception of friends who came to say 
** good-bye" to him they so loved and honoured; for 
it was well known that in his state of health he could 
not leave his apartments to call on them, even had 
the cHmate allowed him to do so. 

Mr. Osgood and myself, who, to use his own expression, 
were ** always doing some ridiculous things to keep me 
in spirits," had been out in the snow settling accounts 
and making farewell calls. On our return we perceived 
Mr. Dickens standing at the sitting-room window of 
our apartments, and, being still some distance from 
the house, we put on a tremendous spurt, pretending 
we had been in training for the walking match, and, 
rushing madly up the staircase, and bursting into the 
sitting-room, where Mr. Dickens was apparently writing 
at his table, we sat down on the floor, gasping for 
breath, much to his amusement, whilst he adminis- 
tered to each of us a cool brandy-and-soda before we 
could be induced to give any account of ourselves or 
the Washington Readings just completed. 

Before leaving Washington I had received a friendly 
intimation from a gentleman in a high position in the 



242 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Internal Revenue Department, that it was barely pos- 
sible that the *' rowdy" element, although absent from 
Washington, might manifest itself in the western part 
of the State of New York, and as our tour included the 
cities of Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo, I was natu- 
rally anxious as to the form the rowdyism would take. 
My friend explained to me that the greater propor- 
tion of the collectors and the heads of departments in 
his bureau in this part of America consisted of Anglo- 
Americans and Irish-Americans, nearly all of whom 
suffered from anglophobia. At this time there was an 
Act of Congress which provided that all theatres and 
permanent places of amusement in the States should 
pay not only income tax to the Government (which was 
rated at five per cent, of the income), but in addition 
there was in each city a Mayor's license to be obtained 
and a city tax of two and a half per cent, on the gross 
receipts. But there was a clause in this Act of 
Congress to the effect that " occasional concerts and 
lectures were excepted ; " and as Mr. Dickens's Read- 
ings clearly came under the head of this exemption, 
my friend suggested that, in the event of any molesta- 
tion from the local authorities, it would be well to have 
an official authority for the non-payment of the charges 
in Mr. Dickens's case. He also proposed "I should see 
the Chief Commissioner of Internal Revenue in Wash- 
ington, and get him to send instructions to the smaller 
places we were about to visit. 



A LUNCH AT WHELCKER'S. 243 

There were other reasons for this precaution being 
taken, as the political atmosphere was daily becoming 
more murky, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson 
was regarded as a certainty. In that event the officials 
under his government would in all probability not be 
employed by any new government which might come 
into power — a prospect that would make the existing 
officials the more assiduous in the execution of their 
duty. 

At the suggestion of my friend I made an appointment 
with the Chief Commissioner to talk the matter over 
with him, and was received by him and his secretaries 
with the utmost courtesy — a courtesy that is always 
present in official dealings in America — and as the 
interview was a lengthy one, the conversation incident 
to it being interspersed with pleasant chat on other 
matters, the time passed on far into the luncheon hour. 
Finding this to be the case, I invited the general and 
his secretaries to lunch with me at Whelcker's — an 
invitation which was accepted as being the readiest 
means of disposing of the question without the loss of 
any more official time. 

During lunch the general suggested that I should 
supply him with my tour list, that he might communi- 
cate officially with each city. But, as it not unfrequently 
happens that in the very best regulated official depart- 
ments, accidents do sometimes happen, I proposed that 
as my tour list might be again changed, it would answer 

9 



244 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the same purpose if he gave me an official general order 
or travelling letter, containing his views in the matter, 
which, in case of necessity, might be shown to the local 
agents, and so save not only some trouble to them, but 
in all probability some inconvenience to Mr. Dickens 
or myself. 

After some little deliberation this was assented to, 
and within an hour of our separating I was the recipient 
of the much-desired order, which I found useful on an 
occasion which will be referred to later on, when the 
rowdy element did assert itself. 

A novelty in official routine presented itself to the 
notice of Mr. Dickens while he was confined to the 
house during his illness, in the shape of crowds of 
well-dressed ladies leaving the Treasury Department 
(a magnificent white marble structure nearly opposite) 
every afternoon at about half-past three, and a large 
crowd of well - dressed gentlemen in waiting for 
the ladies, conveying an impression to his mind 
that the men had not all the legislation to them- 
selves, and that in the Treasury Department there 
was a house of Congress for the ladies as well as the 
men. 

Having an invitation from Mr. Sumner to visit the 
various Government Offices, we were taken through 
this same Treasury Department, where, to our astonish- 
ment, we found that all the clerks employed for copying 
and official work were ladies. Mr. Sumner explained 



A MATRIMONIAL AGENCY. 245 

to us that since the termination of the war, and, indeed, 
during the latter portion of the time of the war, the 
mothers, widows, and sisters of the officers, and of some 
of the men who were killed in battle, and on whom they 
were dependent for support, were employed to do such 
work as had previously been done by male clerks — an 
arrangement thoroughly in keeping with the thought- 
fulness and good-nature of the American character, and 
one which impressed itself strongly on Mr. Dickens's 
mind, at the same time persuading him that the Govern- 
ment were not only performing a kind and humane act, 
but that they were unconsciously ** running " a matri- 
monial agency, for he had opportunities of watching 
the friendly greetings that took place every afternoon, 
and the little exchanges of love tokens, in the shape of 
flowers, gloves, and sweetmeats. 

On Sunday, the 9th of February, we took our depar- 
ture from Washington, with many regrets at leaving so 
many kind friends and pleasant companionships behind 
us. It was my intention to proceed direct to the New 
England cities, viz.. New Haven, Hartford, Providence, 
and Worcester, to superintend the sale of tickets in 
these places for the Readings announced for the week 
commencing on the 17th, but Mr. Dickens being desirous 
I should remain with him for the farewell Readings 
in Baltimore and Philadelphia, I, contrary to my own 
feeling in the matter, consented to do so. I had my 
fears lest the *' noble army of speculators " should make 



246 CHARLES DICKENS. 

their appearance again in these cities, and should they 
do so, I felt sure (knowing the inhabitants of those 
places as I did) that their appearance would have a 
prejudicial effect on our receipts, and for this reason I 
was desirous of being on the spot myself to frustrate as 
much as possible their plans. Mr. Dickens attached 
no importance to my fears in this respect, and, insisting 
that I wanted rest, overpersuaded me to remain with 
him, and allow my English ticket agent to sell the 
tickets in my stead. I had my misgivings that this 
arrangement would not act satisfactorily, and in carry- 
ing out my Chief's wishes in the matter telegraphed to 
my English agent in New York that I should not be 
with him until the end of the week. 

The morning after our arrival in Baltimore was 
devoted to making preparations for the evening's 
Reading. After these Mr. Dickens proposed that he 
should take Mr. Osgood and myself out for our daily 
*' breather," as he used to call it — a walk of about 
twelve miles — for as the time drew nearer to the date 
of the match the training was more severe. The 
" breather," however, was not of the duration Mr. 
Dickens had intended, for the snow and ice, with a 
freezing atmosphere, made walking a great difficulty, 
and after many falls, our ** trainer " decided he would 
take "his men" home. There a surprise of a most 
unpleasant kind was awaiting me in the Baltimore 
evening paper just published. 



RIOT AT NEW HAVEN. 247 

My attention was first attracted on opening the paper 
with the following sensational lines : 

Riot at the Sale of Charles Dickens's Tickets 

AT New Haven ! 
Dickens's Agent and New York Speculators 

Arrested ! 
The Mayor Telegraphs to the Mayor of Hart- 
ford TO EXPOSE THE SWINDLE ! 

Great Excitement in New Haven : Indignation 
Meetings to be held ! 

When I drew Mr. Dickens's attention to these pleasing 
items, and regretted that I had been led away by his 
kindness in his desire that I should remain with him, 
he, after reading the paragraphs, simply remarked : 
" Well, what are you going to do about it ? " There 
was but one thing to do, in my opinion, and that was 
to go to the scene of trouble, and, if possible, make 
out for myself the real state of the case. It was an 
eighteen hours' journey — unpleasant at most times, but 
doubly so with eighteen inches of snow on the ground 
all over the country. Arriving in New York, and calling 
at the Westminster Hotel, I found a gentleman who 
had just come from New Haven, and who was a 
witness of the previous day's proceedings. From him 
I learned the facts, which were very simple. ^ The New 
York speculators had accompanied my agent en masse 



248 CHARLES DICKENS. 

to New Haven, and by some means or another had 
prevailed on him to distribute amongst them the eight 
front rows of seats before commencing the sale to the 
public. Such an act of folly, not to say dishonesty, 
became apparent the moment the sale commenced, 
resulting in a free hand-to-hand fight in the street, 
the English agent making his escape as best he could, 
leaving a large proportion of the New York speculators, 
with poor old ** George Washington'* amongst them, 
in the cells of the police station. 

The case was of so unusual a character, as reported 
to me, that I resolved on returning to Baltimore, to 
consult with Mr. Dickens as to what was the best 
course to pursue. We decided that it would be better 
that I should return to New Haven, and if the case 
really was as it had been represented to me (and I had 
no reason to doubt it), then the New Haven Reading 
should be given up, and the money returned to the 
holders of tickets, no matter what the amount might 
be. Before proceeding on my journey back to Balti- 
more, I had telegraphed to a personal friend at Hartford 
to send me an account of the day's proceedings there, 
my agent not being aware that I was in possession of 
any information with regard to his own shortcomings. 
The information from Hartford being of a highly satis- 
factory character, and all the tickets in New Haven, in 
the meanwhile, having been sold at a bookseller's shop 
in the city, I journeyed thither more leisurely than 



THE GIFTED MAYOR OF NEW HAVEN. 249 

otherwise I should have done, arriving on Wednesday 
evening, the 12th of February. 

I reached the hotel about eight o'clock in the evening 
— a time when the American hotels are generally 
crowded. I found myself suddenly the object of much 
abuse. As an indignation meeting had been advertised 
to take place that same evening at nine o'clock in the 
large room of the hotel, I volunteered, with the kind 
permission of the promoters of the meeting, to form 
one of the indignant public, a suggestion which seemed 
to meet with general approval. 

The Mayor was in the chair, and I must confess that, 
in the whole of my experience, I never came across a 
man who was so unfit to be a chairman of any meeting, 
indignant or otherwise, leaving alone his apparent 
incapacity to hold such high office as Mayor of so 
important and thriving a city as New Haven. He 
stated the case as well as he could, premising his 
remarks with a statement that until then he had never 
heard of Mr. Charles Dickens in his life, consequently 
could have no personal feeling in the matter. He had, 
on general grounds, a great objection to all places of 
entertainment and recreation, and an utter abhorrence 
of anything in the shape of a swindle ; and admitted, 
that although he knew nothing of the merits of the 
case then under discussion, he had felt it to be his duty 
not only to caution the Mayor of Hartford as to what 
might occur in his city, but to preside at the meeting 
then being: held. 



2SO CHARLES DICKENS. 

Another orator intervened and took the matter ruth- 
lessly out of the Mayor's hands. Addressing myself, 
and not the meeting, he stated the case so clearly that 
I had only one course left me, and that was to act on 
the lines laid down in my last interview with Mr. 
Dickens, and great as was the indignation at the treat- 
ment the New Haven people considered they had 
received at the hands of the agent, it was small as 
compared with their frenzy when I informed them that 
I had determined not to allow Mr. Dickens to read in 
New Haven at all, and that at ten o'clock on the follow- 
ing morning I should be only too pleased to refund the 
money paid for the tickets at the advertised prices. 
Here a new difficulty presented itself, for some of the 
persons in the room had bought tickets from the specu- 
lators, for which they had paid large premiums. Others 
suddenly became satisfied with the position of their 
seats in the hall, and felt it to be a hardship that they 
should be deprived of the pleasure of hearing Mr. 
Dickens read. As these gentlemen represented the 
larger proportion of those present, I was at a loss 
to understand for what reason they were all thus 
assembled. The Mayor could not understand either, 
and speedily vacated the chair to beat a hasty retreat, 
and be seen no more until the following day, when I 
had enlisted his services to superintend the return ot 
the money for the tickets already purchased. Finding 
me to be inexorable, the meeting became more indignant 



A NOVEL SENSATION. 251 

than ever, leaving me so far the master of the situation, 
but with a loss of $2,600. 

After the meeting, and over a friendly cigar with 
some of the indignant ones, I became convinced that 
the New Haven public had a real grievance, and it 
was perhaps a ** little steep on them " (as one of the 
gentlemen present expressed it) that the Reading 
should be given up, and particularly so on those who 
had bought of the speculators. At the same time, I 
had Mr. Dickens's feelings in the matter to consult, 
which to me were all-important, and I felt sure that 
when it came to his knowledge that one of our own 
people had been in the pay of the speculators in New 
Haven, the amount of money he would lose by not 
reading there would not trouble his mind. 

On the following morning I met my friends, and 
had the novel sensation of returning money in America 
instead of receiving it, and it was with the greatest 
reluctance that such of the public as kept the ap- 
pointment I had made at the meeting, or through 
the medium of the newspapers, consented to receive 
their money back. The Mayor was present, and, 
for having assailed me previous to my arrival 
in New Haven on a charge of false play in the 
selling of the tickets, he was profuse in his apologies 
for the part he had taken in the matter. He pro- 
posed that a deputation of the leading citizens should 
wait on me with a view to induce Mr. Dickens 



252 CHARLES DICKENS. 

to give another date to New Haven, should I have one 
at disposal, that the town of New Haven might not 
be entirely left out in the cold. 

The Mayor's apologies were accepted, and a seeming 
friendship struck up between us (or, as Mr. Dickens 
afterwards expressed it, ** Dolby and the Mayor of 
New Haven alternately embrace and exchange mortal 
defiances*'). I promised him I would submit his re- 
commendation to the consideration of Mr. Dickens, 
and, if time allowed, would use my utmost endeavours 
to appoint another evening for the purpose he pro- 
posed. After waiting in New Haven nearly the whole 
day, while but few persons came to claim their money 
(less than six hundred dollars being returned in all), I 
took advantage of the circumstance of being in the 
neighbourhood to call on Mr. Donald Mitchell, perhaps 
better known by his nom de plume, ** Ike Marvel," 
who was said to hold some tickets for the Reading in 
New Haven. Mr. Mitchell's house was situated at 
the top of a high and steep hill some miles from New 
Haven, and in my journeying thither I experienced the 
delight of a long sleigh ride, and its exhilarating effects, 
after the worry and anxiety of the past few days. 
During the previous night a furious gale of wind had 
lifted a large tree from the spot on which it grew, and 
deposited it immediately opposite the entrance door to 
the house, missing the porch (fortunately), by a few 
inches. 



"THOSE HORRID SPECULATORS." 253 

The greeting given me by Mr. Mitchell took place 
across the tree, over which I had to scramble before I 
could enter the house. My course of action with re- 
gard to the abandonment of the Readings was highly 
approved by my host ; at the same time he expressed 
the hope that the efforts of the deputation to obtain 
another date would meet with success. 

After leaving New Haven, I journeyed to Phila- 
delphia to attend the farewell Reading in that city, 
where I found that the local speculators had been hold- 
ing out for such high prices that the public had held out 
also, and that at the last moment the former were glad 
to sell at half the cost price, and even at this rate the 
public would not buy, being under the impression, as 
at Baltimore, that the announcement of " Final Fare- 
well Reading " was nothing but a coup de theatre on my 
part, and that later on there would be some more 
"farewells." They inquired of me on leaving the 
hall— 

** When will Mr. Dickens read here again ? *' 

" Never," I answered. 

" What ! not come back again after such a business 
as you are doing ? " 

" No, sir," I replied ; " Mr. Dickens's time is all 
filled up." 

" Well now that is too bad," joined in the ladies ; 
" and those horrid speculators got hold of all the tickets 
and some of our friends couldn't afford to buy any ; 



254 CHARLES DICKENS. 

and there were several empty seats in the hall to- 
night ! " 

I explained that the loss was the speculators* in this 
respect, and that Mr. Dickens regretted that his time 
would not allow him to appear even " once more " (as 
an enthusiastic lady admirer had pleaded), to so de- 
lightful and appreciative an audience as that one in 
Philadelphia. 

On my way through New York, I had telegraphed to 
the erring ticket agent, who was then in Worcester 
(Mass.), to rejoin me in New York on Sunday morning, 
and not to go to Boston for the sale of tickets there as 
arranged. He was in ignorance of my movements 
during the past week, or that I knew anything of his 
New Haven escapade ; and meeting me, according to 
my instructions, was much surprised at the informa- 
tion I possessed on the subject. Finding that ex- 
cuses would avail him nothing, he explained that the 
speculators had plied him with Bourbon whiskey, and 
that, not knowing what he was about, he had fallen 
into their net, and, as I afterwards proved to him, out 
of his situation, for he was instantly dismissed. His 
passage for England being secured for him by the 
following Wednesday's steamer, he left the shores of 
America a wiser and a sadder man. 

Mr. Dickens would frequently, on troublesome occa- 
sions, remark that he felt sure I should be bereft of m 
senses (as he would be bereft of his, if the situation 



THE PRINTER'S LITTLE JOKE. 255 

were not sometimes so comically disagreeable), and he 
used frequently to point as a proof of this theory of his 
to a printer's error in one of the advertisements, which 
immensely delighted him. It ran thus : " The reading 
will be comprised within two minutes ; and the audience 
are earnestly entreated to be seated ten hours before its 
commencement." As will be seen, the printer had trans- 
posed the minutes and the hours, the mistake causing 
me to be chaffed on all sides, not only by Mr. Dickens 
and our friends, but in the newspapers also — the latter 
never being backward in taking advantage of any item 
that may come under their notice, especially in con- 
nection with the doings of any public man or woman 
in America. 

Mr. Osgood having returned to Boston to make 
arrangements for four more Readings there, I was left 
alone with Mr. Dickens to travel to Hartford, Provi- 
dence, and Worcester with him ; and as the New 
Haven Reading was given up, we had Monday, Feb- 
ruary 17th, on our hands. This was devoted to making 
up accounts, and the remitting of money to Coutts's, 
after which Mr. Dickens took me out for a *' breather," 
or, as he termed this one, a "buster," our walk being 
from the Westminster Hotel along the Fifth Avenue, 
and round the Central Park (altogether about eight or 
nine miles) ; and as both Mr. Dickens and myself were 
well known in New York, and as the newspapers had 
frequent references to the walking match, the pace at 



2S6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

which we went along the fashionable quarter of the 
city created some little amusement. The following 
morning we were much interested to find this para- 
graph in one of the daily newspapers : *' Dickens and 
Dolby are in town, and had a walking match yesterday 
in the park. They were afterwards seen taking dinner 
at Delmonico's, and as Dolby paid for the dinner, we 
know who lost the match,'' 

As a matter of fact we did not dine at Delmonico's, 
but at our own hotel, for in the evening we travelled 
to Hartford, to be in readiness for the Reading on the 
following evening. 

Beyond referring to Hartford as a pleasant city, 
pleasantly situated, with a good hotel (the Alleyn 
House), and a delightful hall (the Alleyn Hall), in which 
all the gas jets are lighted by electricity, and where 
there are the most electrical of audiences, no incident 
worthy of record took place here. The Mayor of Hart- 
ford had taken no notice of the telegram sent him by 
the Mayor of New Haven, being himself an enlightened 
man, who felt assured that if the incidents had occurred 
in New Haven of which the Mayor of that city had 
complained, such occurrences were entirely without the 
knowledge or approbation of either Mr. Dickens or 
myself. 

The following day we travelled to Providence (Rhode 
Island), and were greatly surprised on our arrival there 
to find a crowd of some thousands of people awaiting 



A REMINDER OF BOW STREET. 257 

Mr. Dickens at the railway station, just to get a peep 
at him. It was Mr. Dickens's habit, when the weather 
permitted, to walk to his hotel from the ** depot " (as 
the railway stations in America are called), and with- 
out imagining that the crowd would accompany us as 
far as the hotel, we started off as usual, leaving our 
men behind to see after our baggage. On leaving the 
station the whole crowd followed us through the 
streets, some of its component parts occasionally dart- 
ing out in front of Mr. Dickens to have a good look at 
him, whilst others requested the honour of shaking 
him by the hand. Two policemen standing in the 
street saw that Mr. Dickens was being inconvenienced 
by this, and at once took charge of us, one walking by 
the side of Mr. Dickens, and the other by my side, until 
we reached the hotel, when the crowd filed on each side 
of the steps, up which we marched, Mr. Dickens re- 
marking to me : " This is very like going into the 
police van in Bow Street, isn't it ? " 

The crowd were very well behaved, and Mr. Dickens 
was more amused than annoyed at our unexpected 
reception. 

Providence being an isolated sort of place (reminding 
the traveller of some of the Dutch cities in appearance 
and construction), we did not anticipate a large house 
here, and I was greatly surprised to find the tickets all 
sold ; and at the Reading, Mr. Dickens was as delighted 
with his audience as he was with the receipts ($2,140). 



258 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Our next city was Worcester (Mass.), a most pic- 
turesque city, and one of the oldest in the States. Its 
inhabitants turned out in grand style for the Reading, 
which was given under peculiar circumstances ; for in 
the basement of the City Hall (the hall in which the 
Reading was given being on the first floor), a Poultry 
Show was held, and as the birds connected the flaming 
gas lights necessary for their exhibition with the 
brightness of the morning sun, they kept up a constant 
crowing the whole evening, greatly disconcerting Mr. 
Dickens (until the exhibition closed at nine o'clock, 
when the birds were allowed to sleep), but evidently 
unheard by the audience, whose attention was as wrapt 
in Mr. Dickens and the Reading as if it had been given 
under the most auspicious of circumstances. We were 
curious to know how it would fare with Mr. McKean 
Buchanan (the tragedian), on the following evening, 
whose acquaintance we made before leaving, and who 
was announced to give a Shakespearian performance, 
but which report said had to be postponed, the birds 
being too much for the distinguished actor. 

The business of this week having been accomplished, 
with its daily travelling in the coldest of weather and 
deep snow on the ground, it was with the greatest 
delight that we returned on Saturday, February 22nd, to 
our Boston home, at the Parker House Hotel, and the 
society of our Boston friends. That evening we dined 
with Mr. Fields, and a distinguished party was invited 



POLITICAL HUBBUB. 259 

to join the company, amongst whom were some poli- 
ticians of high standing. Since our departure from 
Washington the threatening storm in the poHtical 
horizon had burst, and the impeachment of the Presi- 
dent was all but certain. Everything in America has 
to give way to political matters, and I foresaw that in 
this excitement even the rage for Dickens in Boston 
was likely to abate for a time, for the sale of the tickets 
for the four Readings announced for the following 
week, although large, was not up to the standard of 
our previous Readings in Boston. This was fully 
accounted for by the friends of Mr. Fields, whom we 
met at dinner on the evening of our return to Boston, 
and who explained that the impeachment vote, which 
was to be taken at five in the afternoon of the following 
Monday, was all-absorbing to the public for the time 
being. It was our original intention to give eight 
Readings in all during this visit to Boston, four of 
which only were announced, and having in view the 
political excitement, and Mr. Dickens' state of health, 
we decided (on our return home to the hotel) not to 
give the last four, but to devote the week to rest and 
recreation, feeling assured that by that time the im- 
peachment would have been a thing of the past (for 
no excitement lasts long in the States), and hoping 
that during the rest Mr. Dickens would have got rid of 
his catarrh. As we had still three weeks more travel- 
ling to do in smaller cities, this was most desirable at 



26o CHARLES DICKENS. 

any cost. The effect of the Presidential impeachment 
made itself felt not only at our Readings on the first 
night of our return to Boston, but at every place of 
entertainment in the city. The three large theatres, 
although up to that time playing a tremendous busi- 
ness, were stricken with paralysis. We suffered the 
least of any of them, but our long line of persons wait- 
ing nightly at half-past seven on the chance of some 
unsold seats (or to deal with the speculators) was 
conspicuous by its absence, although had they come 
we could easily have accommodated them, for my 
friends the speculators had caught the political fever, 
and had held aloof for a time ; consequently I was fairly 
well off for seats for the two first Readings of the week. 
When once the public became aware that the impeach- 
ment was to take place, and that March 9th was the 
date fixed for the discussion of it in Washington, they 
returned to their old habits and haunts ; the theatres 
filled as of old, and our receipts for the remaining 
Readings of the week were up to their old standard 
(an average of three thousand dollars a Reading in 
Boston). 

As there was no business to be done — a deputation 
only from New Haven to be received, when I on behalf 
of Mr. Dickens appointed another evening for that city 
in the middle of March ; and Mr. Osgood being in the 
cities in the State of New York (Rochester, Buffalo, 
Syracuse, and Albany), superintending the sale of tickets 



TWO HATS A SIDE. 261 

for those places, I was left comparatively at my ease, 
with very little to do but to prepare for the walking 
match, which was to come off on the following Satur- 
day, February 29th. 

Mr. Dickens, according to his promise, had drawn 
up the articles of agreement, which had been sent to 
Boston to be printed, so as to be in readiness for sig- 
nature by "the men" against the time Mr. Osgood 
and myself should return there ; and he had arranged 
to give a state dinner party to commemorate the 
event. 

The articles of agreement were as follows : — 

The Great International Walking Match of 
February 29, 1868. 

^^ Articles of Agreement entered into at Baltimore in 
the United States of America, this third day of 
February, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-eight, between George 
Dolby (British subject), alias the * Man of Ross,' 
and James Ripley Osgood (American citizen), alias 
the * Boston Bantam.' 
" Whereas some bounce having arisen between the 
above men in reference to feats of pedestrianism and 
agility, they have agreed to settle their differences and 
prove who is the better man by means of a walking 
match for two hats a side and the glory of their re- 
spective countries; and whereas they agree that the said 



262 CHARLES DICKENS. 

match shall come off, whatsoever the weather, on the 
Mill Dam Road, outside Boston, on Saturday, the 29th 
of the present month, and whereas they agree that the 
personal attendants on themselves during the whole 
walk, and also the umpires and starters and declarers 
of victory in the match shall be James T. Fields of 
Boston, known in sporting circles as Massachusetts 
Jemmy, and Charles Dickens, of ** Falstaff's," Gad's 
Hill, whose surprising performances (without the least 
variation), on that truly national instrument, the 
American Catarrh, have won for him the well-merited 
title of the Gad's Hill Gasper. Now these are to 
be the articles of the match : — 

" I. The men are to be started on the day appointed 
by Massachusetts Jemmy and the Gasper. 

*' 2. Jemmy and the Gasper are, on some previous 
day, to walk out at the rate of not less than four miles 
an hour by the Gasper's watch for one hour and a half. 
At the expiration of that one hour and a half they are 
to carefully note the place at which they halt. On the 
match coming off they are to station themselves in the 
middle of the road at that precise point, and the men 
(keeping clear of them and of each other) are to turn 
round them, right shoulder inward, and walk back to 
the starting-point. The man declared by them to pass 
the starting-point first is to be the victor and the 
winner of the match. 

"3. No jostling or fouling allowed. 



THE GREAT WALKING MATCH. 263 

*' 4. All cautions and orders issued to the men by 
the umpires, starters, and declarers of victory to be 
considered final and admitting of no appeal. 

" 5. A sporting narrative of the match to be written 
by the Gasper within one week after its coming off, and 
the same to be duly printed (at the expense of the 
subscribers to these articles) on a broadside. The said 
broadside to be framed and glazed, and one copy of the 
same to be carefully preserved by each of the sub- 
scribers to these articles. 

** 6. The men to show on the evening of the day of 
walking at six o'clock precisely at the Parker House, 
Boston, when and where a dinner will be given them 
by the Gasper. The Gasper to occupy the chair, faced 
by Massachusetts Jemmy. The latter promptly and 
formally to invite, as soon as may be after the date of 
these presents, the following guests to honour the said 
dinner with their presence, that is to say — 

" Mistress Annie Fields, Mr. Charles Eliot Norton and Mrs. 
Norton, Professor James Russell Lowell and Mrs. Lowell, and 
Miss Lowell, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and Mrs. Holmes, Mr. 
Howard Malcolm Ticknor and Mrs. Ticknor, Mr. Aldrich and 
Mrs. Aldrich, Mr. Schlesinger, and an obscure poet named Long- 
fellow (if discoverable), and Miss Longfellow. 

" Now lastly. In token of their accepting the trusts 
and offices by these articles conferred upon them, these 
articles are solemnly and formally signed by Massa- 
chusetts Jemmy and by the Gad's Hill Gasper, as 
well as by the men themselves. 



264 CHARLES DICKENS. 

"Signed by the Man of Ross^ otherwise George Dolby. 
"Signed by the Boston Bantam^ otherwise James R. 

Osgood. 
" Signed by Massachusetts yemmy^ otherwise James T. 

Fields. 
** Signed by the Gad^s Hill Gasper, otherwise Charles 

Dickens. 
" Witness to the signatures, William S. Anthony." 

In pursance of clause No. 2 Mr. Dickens did take Mr. 
Fields over the ground, and at such a pace that Fields 
(who was a good pedestrian) declared on his return he 
had *^ had enough of it," being surprised at Mr. Dickens's 
prowess in this respect.^ As all Boston was talking 
of the match it was deemed expedient to keep time and 
place a profound secret, or " half Boston " would have 
turned out to witness the match if the weather and the 
state of the roads had permitted. The roads were 
covered with snow and sheets and blocks of ice, 
making it almost dangerous to walk at all. Neither 
Osgood nor myself had ever traversed the road before, 
and this made it the more difficult. 

On the day of the match an early start was made, so 
as to elude the movements of the general public, who 
threatened to be on the look-out for us. Mr. Dickens's 
carriage and our men were in attendance to follow us ; 
the carriage to carry our great coats and wraps and 

* At the turning-point at Newton Centre, Fields was so much 
exhausted that he was in want of refreshments, but as the village 
supplied nothing but 2, few oranges, these were purchased, and the 
pedestrians sat down on a doorstep to enjoy them I 




PARKER HOUSE, BOSTON. 

The scene of tlie dinner after "The Great International 
Walking: Match." 



264 



SPORTING NARRATIVE. 265 

some creature comforts for the inner man. But as the 
match is so graphically and humorously described by 
Mr. Dickens in the " Sporting Narrative," I will repro- 
duce it here. 

"THE SPORTING NARRATIVE. 

** The Men, 

" The Boston Bantam {alias Bright Chanticleer), is a 
young bird, though too old to be caught with chaff. 
He comes of a thorough game breed, and has a clear 
though modest crow. He pulls down the scale at ten 
stone and a half and add a pound or two. His previous 
performances in the pedestrian line have not been 
numerous. He once achieved a neat little match 
against time in two left boots at Philadelphia ; but 
this must be considered as a pedestrian eccentricity, and 
cannot be accepted by the rigid chronicler as high art. 

" The old mower with the scythe and hour-glass has 
not yet laid his mawler heavily on the Bantam's 
frontispiece, but he has had a grip at the Bantam's 
top feathers, and in plucking out a handful was very 
near making him like the great Napoleon Buonaparte 
(with the exception of the victualling department), 
when the ancient one found himself too much occu- 
pied to carry out the idea, and had to give it up. 

" The Man of Ross {alias old Alick Pope, alias 
All-our-praises-why-should-lords, &c.), is a thought 
and a half too fleshy, and if he accidentally sat down 



266 CHARLES DICKENS. 

upon his baby would do it to the tune of fourteen stone. 
This popular codger is of the rubicund and jovial 
sort, and has long been known as a piscatorial pedes- 
trian on the banks of the Wye. But Izaak Walton 
hadn't pace — look at his book and you'll find it slow — 
and when that article comes into question, the fishing- 
rod may prove to some of his disciples a rod in pickle. 
Howbeit the Man of Ross is a lively ambler, and has a 
sweet stride of his own. 

" The Training, 
** If vigorous attention to diet could have brought 
both men up to the post in tip-top feather, their condi- 
tion would have left nothing to be desired. But both 
men might have had more daily practice in the poetry 
of motion. Their breathings were confined to an occa- 
sional Baltimore burst under the guidance of the 
Gasper, and to an amicable toddle between themselves 
at Washington. 

** The Course, 
" Six miles and a half, good measure, from the first 
tree in the Mill Dam Road lies the little village (with 
no refreshments in it but five oranges and a bottle of 
blacking), of Newton Centre. Here Massachusetts 
Jemmy and the Gasper had established the turning- 
point. The road comprehended every variety of incon- 
venience to test the mettle of the men, and nearly the 
whole of it was covered with snow. 



SPORTING NARRATIVE. 267 

*'The Start 
was effected beautifully. The men taking their stand 
in exact line at the starting-post, the first tree afore- 
said, received from the Gasper the warning, ' Are you 
ready ? ' and then the signal, * One, two, three — go ! ' 
They got away exactly together, and at a spinning speed, 
waited on by Massachusetts Jemmy and the Gasper. 

'* The Race. 
** In the teeth of an intensely cold and bitter wind, 
before which the snow flew fast and furious across the 
road from right to left, the Bantam slightly led. But 
the Man responded to the challenge, and soon breasted 
him. For the first three miles each led by a yard or so 
alternately, but the walking was very even. On four 
miles being called by the Gasper, the men were side by 
side, and then ensued one of the best periods of the 
race, the same splitting pace being held by both through 
a heavy snow wreath and up a dragging hill. At this 
point it was anybody's game, a dollar on Rossius and 
two half-dollars on the member of the feathery tribe. 
When five miles were called the men were still 
shoulder to shoulder. At about six miles the Gasper 
put on a tremendous spurt to leave the men behind 
and establish himself at the turning-point at the 
entrance of the village. He afterwards declared he had 
received a mental knock-downer in taking his station 
and facing about to find Bright Chanticleer close in 
upon him, and Rossius steaming up like a locomotive. 



268 CHARLES DICKENS. 

The Bantam rounded first ; Rossius rounded wide ; 
and from that moment the Bantam steadily shot 
ahead. Though both were breathed at the turn, the 
Bantam quickly got his bellows into obedient condi- 
tion, and blew away like an orderly blacksmith in full 
work. The forcing pumps of Rossius likewise proved 
themselves tough and true, and warranted first rate, 
but he fell off in pace; whereas the Bantam pegged 
away with his little drum-sticks as if he saw his wives 
and a peck of barley waiting for him at the family 
perch. Continually gaining upon him of Ross, Chanti- 
cleer gradually drew ahead within a few yards of half 
a mile, finally doing the whole distance in two hours 
and forty-eight minutes. Ross had ceased to compete 
three miles short of the winning-post, but bravely 
walked it out, and came in seven minutes later. 

** Remarks, 

" The difficulties under which this plucky match was 
walked can only be appreciated by those who were on 
the ground. To the excessive rigour of the icy blast 
and the depth and state of the snow, must be added 
the constant scattering of the latter into the air and 
into the eyes of the men, while heads of hair, beards, 
eyelashes, and eyebrows were frozen into icicles. To 
breathe at all in such a rarefied and disturbed atmo- 
sphere was not easy, but to breathe up to the required 
mark was genuine slogging, ding-dong hard labour. 



BADLY BEATEN. 269 

That both competitors were game to the backbone, 
doing what they did under such conditions, was evi- 
dent to all ; but to his gameness the courageous 
Bantam added unexpected endurance, and (like the 
sailor's watch that did three hours to the cathedral 
clock's one), unexpected powers of going when wound 
up. The knowing eye could not fail to detect con- 
siderable disparity between the lads, Chanticleer being, 
as Mrs. Cratchit said of Tiny Tim, * very light to 
carry,' and Rossius promising fair to attain the rotun- 
dity of the anonymous cove in the epigram — 

* And when he walks the streets the paviors cry, 
" God bless you, sir ! " — and lay their rammers by.' " 

As will be seen by the narrative, I was badly beaten 
by Mr. Osgood, whom at the turning-point at the 
bottom of a steep hill, I allowed (acting under Mr. 
Dickens's instructions) to get too far away from me, 
never in the least supposing that he had staying power 
sufficient to carry him on for the rest of the journey. 
My supposition probably would have been confirmed 
had not Mrs. Fields arrived on the scene in her car- 
riage, and turning round accompanied Osgood the rest 
of the walk, plying him the whole time with bread 
soaked in brandy ! We all, with the exception of 
Osgood, of course, felt that she showed great favourit- 
ism in this respect, but she frankly admitted that she 
would have done the same by me, if she had met me 



270 CHARLES DICKENS. 

coming in first, a confession that was made in so 
delightful a manner that we forgave her. The dinner 
was a great success, and as Mr. Dickens had received 
so many floral tributes at the hands of Mrs. Fields, he 
had made up his mind that the table should not be 
wanting in this respect, and had arranged to have a 
perfect flower-garden for its decoration. There were 
two immense crowns, having for their base the choicest 
exotics, and the loops composed of violets ; and all 
round the table was a border of a choice creeper, with 
roses placed at intervals, a button-hole for each gentle- 
man, and a bouquet of flowers for each lady, the whole 
presenting such a scene, of its kind, as had never 
been witnessed in Boston before. It was a source of 
great pleasure to numbers of people staying in the 
hotel, who were admitted to the exhibition before the 
hour for dinner had arrived. The usual form of 
speech-making on such an occasion was dispensed 
with, and only one toast proposed, which was " The 
health of Her Majesty the Queen of England ; '* but 
the conversation and fun supplied the place of 
speeches, and in parting for the night every one de- 
clared that there never before had been such a social 
gathering as this one. 

The following week was a week of rest, so far as the 
Readings were concerned, but was a busy one in many 
other ways. " No Thoroughfare " had made a great 
success at the Adelphi Theatre, in London, and all the 



A DINNER AT LONGFELLOW'S. 271 

theatres in America were playing piratical versions of 
it; and although Mr. Dickens had, through Messrs. 
Ticknor and Fields, registered the play as their pro- 
perty (they being American citizens), still the managers 
defied the law, and continued playing the piece to over- 
flowing houses. This was a source of annoyance to 
Mr. Dickens, less on account of the fees to which he 
considered himself entitled, than on account of the 
defiant manner in which his property was taken : 
notably in one case, in New York, when he proposed 
to a leading manager that he would be pleased to 
superintend the mounting of the piece in his theatre if 
he would accept his services,- and would use his own 
book rather than a mutilated one. This offer was dis- 
courteously disregarded, and no notice whatever taken 
of Mr. Dickens's liberal offer. 

With a view to the establishment of an International 
Copyright Act, some of the leading authors and pub- 
lishers waited on Mr. Dickens in Boston, requesting 
him to attend a meeting, and to express his views on 
the matter, an invitation which Mr. Dickens declined, 
on the ground that he felt the case to be a hopeless 
one, as the Western men, in his opinion, were too 
strong for the legitimate publisher in the East. He 
gave his reasons why the passing of such an Act would 
be a matter of difficulty ; as in his *' experiences he 
never found any people willing to pay for a thing they 
could legally steal," and so he declined losing any 
time over the subject. 



272 CHARLES DICKENS. 

A dinner at Longfellow's on the Wednesday evening 
of the rest-week, and another dinner party given by 
Dickens, made the time pass pleasantly. The former 
was a ** man's" dinner, and a most enjoyable one. The 
party consisted of Messrs. Longfellow, Dickens, Agassiz, 
Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Bayard Taylor, and 
myself ; and the fun flew fast and furious. 

The dinner given by Mr. Dickens was his last in 
Boston, as we had to leave for Rochester at the end of 
the week, not to return there until the end of that 
month, for the farewell Readings, when our time in 
Boston would be very limited, and would have to be 
devoted to the settlement of our affairs and farewells. 
On this occasion all ceremony was to be dispensed 
with, and as the catarrh showed signs of leaving the 
patient, Mr. Dickens was in the best of spirits, and his 
own joviality became so contagious that even the most 
dignified of the guests caught the infection and went 
in for fun. A favourite subject of conversation with 
Mr. Dickens was the art of speech-making, which he 
always said was one of the easiest and simplest things 
in the world. 

I remember in England on one occasion, when Mr. 
Wilkie Collins joined us at supper after a Reading in a 
small country town, the conversation at supper turned 
on the subject of speech-making. Mr. Wilkie Collins 
remarked that he had invariably felt a difficulty when 
called upon for a speech either at a public meeting or 



HOW TO MAKE A SPEECH. 273 

after dinner, adding that for important occasions his 
habit was to make notes of what he had to say, and 
keep them before him for reference during the progress 
of the speech. 

As is well known, Mr. Dickens was one of the hap- 
piest of speakers, and on all occasions without any 
notes to assist him in this most difficult of arts. 
Declaring that to make a speech was the easiest thing 
in the world, he said the only difficulty that existed 
was in introducing the subject to be dealt with. '*Now 
suppose I am the president of a rowing club and Dolby 
is the honorary secretary. At our farewell dinner, or 
supper, for the season, I, as president, should propose 
his health in these words : " 

Here he made a speech of the most flattering 
description, calling on the subject of it for a reply. As 
I did not feel equal to a response I asked Mr. Collins 
to try his skill first. He handed the responsibility 
over to Mr. Wills, who in his turn handed it back to 
Mr. Dickens, who then told us in a ludicrous speech 
what the honorary secretary ought to have said, though 
I am certain no ordinary honorary secretary would ever 
have dreamt of such a performance. Then I asked 
Mr. Dickens if he could explain to us his modus operandi 
of preparing an important speech, Mr. Wilkie Collins 
adding that it would be curious to know what (besides 
the speech) was passing in his mind during its delivery. 
He told us that, supposing the speech was to be delivered 



274 CHARLES DICKENS. 

in the evening, his habit was to take a long walk in the 
morning, during which he would decide on the various 
heads to be dealt with. These being arranged in their 
proper order, he would in his " mind's eye," liken the 
whole subject to the tire of a cart wheel — he being 
the hub. From the hub to the tire he would run as 
many spokes as there were subjects to be treated, and 
during the progress of the speech he would deal with 
each spoke separately, elaborating them as he went 
round the wheel ; and when all the spokes dropped out 
one by one, and nothing but the tire and space re- 
mained, he would know that he had accomplished his 
task, and that his speech was at an end. 

Mr. Wills suggested that if he were in this position, 
the wheel would whiz round with such rapidity that he 
would see nothing but space to commence with, and 
that, without notes or memoranda, in space he would be 
left — a conclusion in which Mr. Wilkie Collins and 
I fully concurred. 

It was my fortune on many occasions after this to 
accompany Mr. Dickens when he took the chair at 
public dinners or meetings, and remembering on all 
such occasions his plan of action, I have been amused 
to observe him dismiss the spoke from his mind by 
a quick action of the finger as if he were knocking it 
away. Even when listening to a speech he would (if 
interested) follow the speaker's words by an almost 
imperceptible action, as if taking down the speech in 



QUALIFICATION FOR PARLIAMENT. 275 

shorthand, that being, as he used to say, a habit 
contracted in the early part of his career ; and many 
times when I have been writing a letter at his dictation, 
I have noticed him punctuate the sentences by the 
same movement. 

Well, at the Boston dinner, Mr. Dickens proposed an 
illustration of his theory, Fields and himself were to 
nominate rival candidates to represent some imaginary 
borough at an English election, Mr. Dickens selecting 
me as his candidate, and Mr. Fields selecting Mr. 
John Bigelow (the ex-Minister Plenipotentiary). In 
his endeavour to establish my claims as a fit and 
proper person to represent the borough, Mr. Dickens 
instanced the fact that I had no hair on the top of my 
head, whereas the rival candidate being plentifully 
supplied with that article, could not be considered a 
desirable person to represent any borough in the House 
of Commons. After he had finished his speech, which 
was of the most ludicrous description. Fields com- 
menced his, but was never allowed to finish it, for he 
was continually interrupted by Mr. Dickens in a variety 
of voices and cries, such as, *' Down with the hairy 
aristocracy ! " " Up with the chap with the shiny 
top ! " &c., the whole resulting in such an uproar that 
poor Fields had no chance. The outbursts of laughter 
were so loud and continuous, and the side-splitting pain 
so great in consequence, that it was with sheer exhaus- 
tion that we all gave up and retired for the night. 

10 




CHAPTER IX. 

THE CLOSE OF THE AMERICAN TOUR, AND THE 
RETURN HOME. 

HEAVY snowstorm with a terrific gale 
of wind had been raging all the week, and 
as all the trains were some hours, and 
some of them a day, late in their arrival, 
we determined on starting a day earlier than originally 
arranged on our journey to the North-West, so as to 
avoid the chance of being delayed by being " snowed 
up ; '* and after a most unpleasant journey we arrived 
on Saturday evening, March 7th, in the city of Syra- 
cuse (breaking our journey at Albany). The circum- 
stances under which Syracuse was visited were perhaps 
not the most favourable. A thaw had set in, rendering 
walking almost an impossibility, but a walk was taken 
later in the day to view the city, and the conclusion 
Mr. Dickens arrived at with regard to Syracuse was 
that it was a most out-of-the-way place, and looked as 
if it had " begun to be built yesterday, and was going 



SYRACUSE. 277 

to be imperfectly knocked together with a nail or two 
the day after to-morrow.'* There were no people to be 
seen in the streets, and it was a matter of surprise to 
us that Mr. Osgood had contrived to sell all the tickets 
for the Reading on the following night ; but as this was 
Sunday it occurred to us that the population were all 
in church. The hotel was unbearable, and the bed- 
rooms so bad that we were afraid to go to them at 
night. So we sat up playing cribbage and whist 
(double dummy) until, as Mr. Dickens wrote to Fields, 
** neither of us could bear to speak to the other any 
more." In the same letter he described his waking 
moments on the morning after his arrival : " The 
awakening to consciousness this morning on a lop- 
sided bedstead, facing nowhere, in a room holding 
nothing but sour dust, was more terrible than the being 
afraid to go to bed at night." The bill of fare (the 
printed carte de jour) was a curiosity in itself, as was 
also the Irish waiter told off for our service. The bill 
of fare included such delicacies as " Fowl de poulet," 
** Paettie de Shay," '' Celary," and a " Murange with 
cream." On my asking the Irish waiter what a 
" Paettie de Shay " was he said he would go and in- 
quire, and came back with the startling intelligence 
that " it was the Frinch name the steward gave to the 
oyster patties ! " The wine list was also curious, and 
included such vintages as " Mooseux," *' Abasinthe," 
** Curacce," " Maraschine," *' Annisse," and " Table 



278 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Madeira." A bottle of the former had been tried on 
the evening of our arrival, to wash dowm some buffalo 
vs^hich had been prepared for our supper, and w^as de- 
scribed by Mr. Dickens at the time as a " tough old 
nightmare ; " but as the wine displayed an utter absence 
of grape we resolved on leaving that in the future, 
and flew in desperation to the '' Table Madeira " 
(which would have done discredit to good honest 
British wine of the ginger or cowslip species). Then 
we tried the *' Margeaux,' which, if we had persevered 
with it, would have terminated in colic. The only good 
feature in the wines was the price, for there was 
nothing under three dollars a bottle, and as the brandy 
('* Jersey lightning") was impossible, we had to fall 
back on our own flasks and small travelling stock for 
our stay in Syracuse. 

The following morning Mr. Dickens's arrival in the 
city had become known, and the depression of the 
previous day and the badness of the hotel were for- 
gotten in the geniality of the inhabitants of Syracuse, 
who all seemed desirous of contributing something to 
his pleasure and amusement, during the short time he 
had to pass there. Although there were no people to 
be seen in the streets on the Sunday after our arrival, 
there were plenty at the Reading at night, and a most 
delightful and appreciative audience too, taking all the 
points of the Reading and its delicate touches as well 
as had the audiences in the other cities. The receipts 



A CITY UNDER WATER. 279 

were quite on an average with the more pretentious 
places. 

Our next city was Rochester, where the effects of the 
thaw had made itself felt, and threatened to give us 
a new sensation, for although most of the tickets for the 
Reading were sold, it was a question whether or not 
there would be any hall in which to read. 

The sudden thaw had caused immense blocks of ice to 
float down the river, which having formed themselves into 
an enormous ridge, had refused to yield about the Gen- 
nessee Falls, and the town was threatened with inunda- 
tion, a disaster that is no novelty in Rochester, the same 
thing having occurred a few years previously. At the 
time of our arrival, the city presented the appearance 
of a general move — piles of furniture being seen about 
in the streets, and boats about in various places for 
the safety of the inhabitants. In the basement of the 
hall where Mr. Dickens's Reading was to take place, 
there were already three feet of water, and but for the 
fortunate collapse of the ridge in the night, with a 
tremendous crash, the worst consequences would 
have ensued. We walked the following morning to 
the Falls of the Gennessee, and was greatly interested 
in their beauty. They were a good preparation for the 
grander sight in store for us, viz., Niagara, which we 
were to visit at the end of the week. The fear of the 
inundation had not deterred the public from attending 
the Reading to any great extent, although it had 



28o CHARLES DICKENS. 

affected our receipts, which fell to $1,906, the lowest 
total during the American tour. 

From Rochester we went to Buffalo, and in our 
progress through the State of New York no signs of 
anglophobia had been seen, as my friend in Washing- 
ton so much feared. Everything in Buffalo looked 
well for the usual success, and it was whilst we were 
seated at dinner congratulating ourselves that the 
Washington scare had come to nothing, that the 
waiter told me (he was a ** darkie "), " Dar's free gen'le- 
man want to see you downstars." 

I asked him if they had sent up their cards, or if " he 
knew who they were." He guessed he didn't know 
them personally, but gave me to understand that he 
knew one of them was a sheriffs ofBcer ! I sent word 
down I would be with them immediately ; and, leaving 
the dinner-table, went to my despatch-box, putting 
the travelling letter into my pocket, and went down- 
stairs to see my visitors. 

The waiter took me where they were standing 
in the public bar, discoursing freely and taking a 
drink with some of their friends, and several persons 
standing about eagerly wondering what their business 
could be. 

On being presented to them by the " darkie," I 
inquired their business, and was informed by one of 
them that he was a sheriff's officer, in the service of 
the Internal Revenue Department, and that his busi- 



THE LITTLE GAME OF THE SHERIFFS OFFICE. 281 

ness was ** with Mr. Dickens, and nobody else." Here 
he politely introduced me to his two companions as 
his assistants. By this time a number of people had 
congregated, and had become interested in the inter- 
view. 

The sheriff's officer wore a seal-skin cap, a thick 
muffler round his neck, and a thick pea jacket, while in 
his hand he carried a thick stick. Mr. Dickens, I said, 
was at dinner, and could not be disturbed then ; but 
any business he had to transact with Mr. Dickens, 
could be as well transacted through me; and giving 
him my name as a proof of the relations that existed 
between Mr. Dickens and myself, I begged that he 
would state his business at once as I was in a hurry. 

"Wall," he said, ** I've come to tell you that Mr. 
Dickens can't read to-night." 

I pretended not to understand his meaning, and 
replied, "You are quite mistaken, for Mr. Dickens's 
cold has nearly left him, and he is in excellent voice." 

" I guess you don't understand who and what I am," 
he replied, " or what my power is." 

Being a foreigner, I regretted I did not. 

" Wall, then, to make the case clear to your British 
brain, I will explain," he proceeded. " I guess neither 
you nor Mr. Dickens have complied with the laws of 
this country in not getting a Mayor's license to read, 
and you haven't arranged with my department about 
the city tax." 



282 CHARLES DICKENS. 

I explained : " The Mayor, being a friend of Mr. 
Dickens and myself, has informed me that in Mr. 
Dickens's case no license is necessary, and with regard 
to the city tax, Mr. Dickens is not liable." 

Turning to his assistants, he ordered them to serve 
me with notices prohibiting the Reading, and proceed- 
ing to leave the hotel himself, cautioned me that he 
was '* going to place policemen at the entrance of the 
hall, to prevent the doors being opened." After he had 
gone a few paces I called him back, with a view, as he 
evidently thought, of making some arrangement with 
him, either in the form of a money compromise, or 
in free passes for himself and subordinates, which 
in reality, I afterwards ascertained, was what he 
wanted. After much persuasion, and a great show 
of indignation, he came back only to repeat his 
threats, when I drew from my breast pocket my letter 
of authority from the head of his department. He 
read it, and having done so, simply remarked, looking 
round at the assembled crowd, " JeRUsalem, I'm beat ; " 
and calling to his assistants to follow him, took himself 
off, amidst the jeers and laughter of the company. 
However, he was called back again to partake of a 
bottle of champagne with me, and further to accept 
an invitation to attend the Reading with his wife and 
family. He readily accepted the invitation, and came 
to me the following day with a request for similar 
treatment for that evening. 



BUFFALO LADIES, PLEASE SKIP. 283 

Besides being much struck with the change in 
Buffalo since he first visited it, Mr. Dickens was also 
much struck by the absence of female beauty from the 
Readings. In all the cities hitherto visited, the assem- 
blage of pretty women was remarkable, but on reaching 
the frontier this seemed to fade away, and a sort of 
German-Irish- Scotch-mixed-with-Indian face took its 
place. This was particularly noticeable in the streets, 
though we thought that when the evening came we 
should see a difference ; but we had not a dozen pretty 
women in the hall (which was crammed to suffocation). 
Nor were their toilettes at all comparable with those of 
the American ladies in other cities. These deficiencies, 
however, were fully compensated for by the brightness 
of their perception, and their appreciation of Mr. 
Dickens and his Readings. 

After Buffalo, we went on our two days' pleasure trip 
to Niagara, taking with us such of our staff as could 
be spared ; and as the weather was fine, but severely 
cold, we had what the Americans call a good time. 

The hotel on the Canadian (or as it is called there 
the English) side was not open, as the winter was so 
severe that but few persons visited Niagara. This was 
a disappointment to us, as from this hotel the best 
view of the Falls is to be obtained, so we had to stay at 
the Spencer House Hotel, close to the station, and 
some two miles from the Falls. Although the Falls 
were not visible at this distance, they made themselves 



284 CHARLES DICKENS. 

audible all through the day and night, and felt also ; 
the continual rumble and shaking of the hotel and 
window frames creating an impressive effect, and caus- 
ing wonderment in the mind that all the houses in the 
neighbourhood did not collapse under its influence. 

We not only did the Falls thoroughly (except going 
underneath them, as our men did), driving two miles 
up the country along the sides of the Rapids above the 
Horse Shoe Fall, and passing through a great cloud of 
spray, but journeyed downwards to the Whirlpool, 
which has, if anything, as great a fascination for the 
visitor as the Falls themselves — and on this occasion 
was well worth seeing, as the pool was filled with 
enormous blocks of ice and numberless trees that had 
been uprooted by the floods (up the country), and had 
been washed over the falls. Great was our excitement 
in watching these masses endeavouring to make their 
escape to the Niagara River, only to be driven back 
again by the never-ceasing eddies to the opposite side 
of the whirlpool from which they had started. A gentle- 
man, introducing himself to us as the proprietor of the 
land through which we were passing, took great pains to 
explain to us all the attractive features in his neighbour- 
hood, and amongst other curious incidents related to 
us that, before the Suspension Bridge over the Rapids 
below the Falls was placed there, he had frequently 
seen as many as six or seven dead bodies of British 
soldiers floating about in tiae Whirlpool for a fortnight at 



NIAGARA. 28s 

a time. The soldiers were in the habit of deserting from 
the Canadian to the American side on pieces of timber 
or leaves of tables, crossing over the Pool between the 
Falls and the Rapids. This Pool has the appearance 
of being as calm as a mill pond, but is in reality very 
dangerous and treacherous, from the almost impercep- 
tible eddies (looking like dimples) always moving about 
on it. The unfortunate soldiers, not being aware of 
this, were sucked in and drowned, their bodies in many 
cases never being recovered ; and if they were, were so 
mutilated by the action of the water that they were not 
recognizable. 

On our second day at Niagara we were all anxiety to 
get back to the Falls, and to roam about the beautiful 
country, and in the woods on either side ; and although 
the visitor to Niagara is disappointed by the first im- 
pression, after a very short time the Falls have such 
a fascination that it is difficult to keep one's gaze 
from them. As a farewell trip we drove to the spot we 
had reached the previous day, and on our return (the 
sun being at our backs), were rewarded by a scene of 
colour such as neither of us had ever witnessed before. 
This was described in a letter written to Mr. Macready 
by Mr. Dickens : " Everything in the magnificent valley 
• — buildings, forest, high banks, air, water, everything — 
was made of rainbow. Turner's most imaginative draw- 
ing in his finest day has nothing in it so ethereal, so 
gorgeous in fancy, so celestial. We said to one another 



286 CHARLES DICKENS. 

(Dolby and I), * Let it for evermore remain so,' and shut 
our eyes and came away." 

After this pleasure trip, we turned our backs on the 
West and journeyed towards home, much to Mr. 
Dickens's unfeigned delight ; for although more than 
gratified with his reception everywhere, and the con- 
siderable amount of money he had made, his life in 
America was one of self-denial and misery to him, in 
consequence of his sufferings from the effects of his 
cold. A new cause for anxiety and of discomfort 
threatened him on our leaving Niagara, in the shape 
of the return of the old malady in his foot. This he 
ascribed to walking about at Niagara in the snow. Up 
to this time the illness was confined to the left foot, 
but symptoms now presented themselves of an attack 
in the right foot also, and caused him to be lame for 
the remainder of the time he was in America. Still he 
persevered with the task he had before him, and per- 
formed it without one word of complaint, all the time ; 
seldom eating and drinking, and scarcely ever sleeping. 
All his thoughts were of home and of the loved ones 
there, and the five weeks to be got through before 
starting on our return seemed, in my anxiety for 
his safety, more than all the time we had already 
passed, and caused me also to long for the 22nd of 
April, when we were to set sail in the Russia for home. 
Our journey westward commenced in a most unplea- 
sant manner ; for after leaving Rochester on our way 



UTICA. 287 

to Albany, where two Readings were announced for the 
evenings of Thursday and Friday, the 19th and 20th 
March, we were informed that there were considerable 
doubts as to our being able to get through, as the sud- 
den thaw had caused the river to overflow, and that the 
country for some three hundred miles was under water. 
We had fortunately taken the precaution, in the long 
journey we had before us, to allow an extra day for its 
accomplishment, and it was with more anxiety than 
would otherwise have been the case, that during the 
progress of our journey I was informed, privately, by 
the conductor of the train, that we should not be able 
to proceed farther than Utica. This official at the 
same time told me that there was but one hotel in the 
city, and that in all probability, as all the traffic going 
to the East would be stopped at Utica, there would be 
a difficulty in getting apartments for the night. He 
advised me to " make a bolt " for the hotel the moment 
we reached Utica. Arriving there I took the conductor's 
advice, and did " make a bolt," leaving Mr. Dickens in 
the drawing-room car in the train, and being the first 
at the hotel (whilst all the other passengers were won- 
dering what to do with themselves), I succeeded in 
securing the only vacant sitting-room and bed-room in 
the hotel, returning to the station for Mr. Dickens and 
our men, but without in the least knowing where they, 
or even myself, were going to sleep for the night. 
Although we arrived early in the afternoon, every spare 



288 CHARLES DICKENS. 

bed in the city had been engaged, and in consequence 
of the immense sudden influx of passengers there were 
grave doubts whether the commissariat would hold out. 

The proprietor of the hotel had provided handsomely 
for our requirements, but had his doubts as to his 
powers in doing the same for our men, doubts that Mr. 
Dickens instantly set at rest in insisting that the men 
should have their dinner and supper with him. On 
this occasion he appeared in the same jovial and genial 
character he had played so often ; and although neither 
the quarters nor the food were anything particular, 
still the desire to please, on the part of the proprietor 
and his servants, was so apparent, that the absence of a 
good chef de cuisine was not remarkable. Whilst wait- 
ing for dinner we took a stroll through the city to find 
the greater part of it under water, and looking, as Mr. 
Dickens said at the time, ** as if the high and dry part 
of it could produce nothing particular to eat." 

With the prospect of being called at any hour of the 
night to continue the journey in the event of the waters 
subsiding, the idea of going to bed seemed ridiculous, 
especially as Mr. Dickens seldom slept when he got 
there, so we resolved on playing cribbage and double 
dummy as long as we could, Mr. Dickens volunteer- 
ing to brew a jug of gin punch. There was not a jug 
to be had, so the punch was brewed in a " bed-room 
pitcher" (as they call a wash-hand-jug in America), 
but was not the less appreciated for that. At midnight 



AN AMERICAN DELUGE. 289 

we were told that there was no chance of our being 
able to get through, and that we had better settle down 
for the night. Most of the passengers slept in the 
trains, whilst others slept on chairs about the hotel. 
At six the following morning we were aroused, and 
told to *' get aboard and try it." Half an hour later, we 
learned that there was *' no sort o' use " in getting 
aboard and trying it, but at eight o'clock it was decided 
to try it (all the bells in the city being rung to summon 
the passengers together), and away we went for this 
purpose, the time occupied on the journey (which is 
usually performed in less than three hours) being nearly 
ten hours. 

On the way, we picked up and released the passengers 
from two trains, which had been in the water the pre- 
vious day and night. These hapless travellers would 
have been without food but for the enterprise of one of 
their number, who had made a raft out of some floating 
timbers and rails, paddled up into the country to some 
farm-houses, and had bought all the eggs, milk, bread, 
and cheese he could find, " peddling" them amongst 
his companions at a handsome profit. 

After this we released a cattle train, laden principally 
with sheep, which had been in the water for over a 
week. In their hunger the poor beasts had commenced 
to eat each other. The haggard and dismal expression 
on the faces of these sheep was almost human, and left 
an impression on the mind not easily forgotten. Having 



290 CHARLES DICKENS. 

towed this train to a dry spot, where the cattle were 
turned into a field, we made another struggle for Albany, 
which we were more than desirous of reaching, for a 
Reading had to be given there that night, for which all 
the tickets were sold. This having been made known 
to one of the railway officials who was in charge of the 
train, he said to Mr. Dickens, *' If you want to get 
along, I guess I'm the man as can get you along, and 
if I can't, why then it's impossible ; " and turning out his 
gang of men, about a hundred strong, they preceded 
the train, each armed with a long pole to push away 
the immense blocks of ice and floating timber from the 
front of the locomotive. In this way we journeyed 
along through the inundated valley at the rate of about 
three miles an hour. As the ice and the timber was 
cleared away from the front of the train, it was not 
unfrequently drawn back again under the wheels, 
causing a jolting indescribably unpleasant in its effect. 
After travelling in this way some ten to twelve miles, 
we at last arrived at a part of the country where the 
influence of the river was not felt, and reached Albany 
at about five in the afternoon, just in time to make 
preparations for the Reading. Our men, although they 
had not been in bed the whole night, and, like ourselves, 
had not had any food since the previous day, worked 
away with a good will, and got the screen and little table 
fixed within an hour and a half. The arrangements on 
the platform and in the hall (the Tweddle Hall) were 



LETTERS FROM HOME. 291 

as perfect as if the whole day had been given to the 
work. Neither was Mr. Dickens apparently any the 
worse for the extra exertion and inconvenience he had 
undergone, but gave the " Carol " and *' Trial " in his 
happiest mood, to the great delight of his crowded 
audience. 

Instead of returning to Boston to spend the following 
Saturday and Sunday, a journey of over six hours, we 
determined on staying in Springfield, which was our 
next reading town, and by so doing saving some un- 
necessary travelling ; and as Springfield is a pleasant 
city, with an excellent hotel (the Massasoit House), we 
had no reason to regret our change of plan ; for three 
most agreeable days were passed here, days which were 
rendered the more pleasant by the receipt of an unusually 
large batch of "home" letters, full of congratulations 
on our triumphant progress through the States, and pro- 
mising hearty and affectionate welcomes to us when we 
should arrive in our respective homes. 

There was also a letter for Mr. Dickens of large pro- 
portions, which, I remarked, seemed to have but little 
interest for him, being laid on one side until such time 
as he had got through the letters, which evidently were 
of more moment. During the progress of dinner, which 
was served on our arrival at the hotel, Mr. Dickens 
bethought himself of the large letter, and, handing it to 
me, asked me to open it, on doing which I found it to 
contain a photograph of a pony of beautiful form, with 



292 CHARLES DICKENS. 

a young gentleman (instead of a groom) standing at his 
head. On the pony were a couple of panniers, and it 
wanted but a child in each of them to make the picture 
complete. 

Mr. Dickens being asked by myself the meaning of 
the picture, he replied, '' Can't you see ? look at it 
closely." This being done I recognized the portrait of 
one of my nephews (the son of Madame Sainton), but 
as this did not assist me in the elucidation of the sub- 
ject, I remarked, " There's Charley Sainton, and there's 
a pony with panniers on him ; but what the portraits 
mean, and what they are sent to you for, I cannot 
imagine." He then explained that, when the news of 
the birth of my boy arrived at Washington, he deter- 
mined on marking the event in some manner, and could 
think of nothing better than to write to Wills and in- 
struct him to purchase on his behalf the handsomest 
pony he could find, and to send him with his trappings 
complete, as a present, to my wife at Ross in Hereford- 
shire, with ** the Chief's love ; " and thinking to interest 
me the more in the subject, had made arrangements for 
my nephew to have his portrait taken in the position 
in which he then was, rather than have a groom or 
stable-boy holding the pony. 

Valuable as was the present, the pleasure in the re- 
ceipt of it was greatly enhanced by the manner of its 
gift, and was a proof, amongst many others, of the 
affectionate friendship which existed between us. As 



GETTING NEAR THE END. 293 

was natural, under the circumstances, our conversation 
on that particular evening v^as more on home matters 
than anything else ; and many were the plans made 
for the coming summer, to which he was looking for- 
ward with so much pleasure and interest. 

Our operations in America were now confining them- 
selves within narrow limits, and it was fortunate that it 
was so, for Mr. Dickens's health was becoming a graver 
source of anxiety every day. There was very little 
more travelling to be done before the " farewells " in 
Boston and New York, the only new cities to be visited 
being New Haven, on the evening following Springfield, 
New Bedford, and Portland. 

After the New Haven Reading I had to leave him 
for the last time, to look after the New York " fare- 
wells,'* and the Press dinner about to be given to him at 
Delmonico's in that city, Mr. Osgood travelling with 
him to New Bedford and Portland. 

The New Haven Reading had not suffered by the 
postponement, and a happily chosen speech previous to 
the commencement of it tended to put every one in a 
good humour, the audience being as pleased with the 
few words of explanation offered by Mr. Dickens as he 
was with their reception of it, and of the Reading which 
followed. 

A return of the snowstorms and severe frost brought 
a return of the **true American" (as he used to call 
the catarrh), and also a return of the sleepless nights, 



294 CHARLES DICKENS. 

with the additional trouble of the pain in the swollen 
foot, which rendered walking almost an impossi- 
bility. 

Whilst in New York, I received a letter from him 
asking me to call on his doctor there (Dr. Fordyce 
Barker), and to get from him a prescription for a com- 
posing draught, in the hope of producing a night's rest ; 
and on my return to him in Boston I was much shocked 
at the change that had taken place in the few days I 
had been away. At the same time, I had my fears 
that he would not be able to get through the farewell 
Readings in Boston. 

The Fields were all and everything to him in his 
illness, and the affectionate attention of Mrs. Fields, 
who as usual had decorated his rooms with flowers, 
and the genial society of Fields, did much to make him 
forget his sufferings, and when night came he went to 
the little table as if nothing had been the matter with 
him. The exertion of getting himself up to reading 
pitch, and the fatigue and excitement of reading, 
resulted in great depression of spirits, which fortunately 
did not last long ; but it necessitated a departure 
from the usual routine of our Reading life, for instead 
of the immediate change of costume usual on these 
occasions with the ** rub down," it was necessary that 
he should lie down on the sofa in his dressing-room for 
twenty minutes or half an hour, in a state of the greatest 
exhaustion, before he could undergo the fatigue even o£ 



SICKNESS AND MISGIVINGS. 295 

dressing, and taking during this time about a wine- 
glassful of champagne to give action to his heart. 
These attacks of nervous depression being over, he 
would be himself again ; and on returning to the hotel 
would partake of a little soup or strong beef-tea, and 
spend an hour or two in genial conversation with my- 
self, and sometimes two or three friends, discussing the 
events of the day and the incidents of the Readings, 
before retiring to undergo the agonies of another sleep- 
less night. I used to steal into his room at all hours 
of the night and early morning, to see if he were awake 
or in want of anything ; always though to find him 
wide awake and as cheerful and jovial as circum- 
stances would admit, never in the least complaining, 
and only reproaching me for not taking my night's rest. 
I did not express to him my own misgivings that he 
might break down at any moment. This caused him 
at times to think that I did not understand "that the 
power of coming up to the mark every night with spirits 
and spirit may co-exist with the nearest approach to 
sinking under it," but in reality I did. 

Our men though, and those who were not as much 
with him as I was (even Fields), ^ould scarcely be made 
to understand the real state of the case with regard to 
his health, as they only saw him at his best. The men 
would receive my account of the bad way in which the 
Chief was, with the remark, '' It'll be all right at night, 
sir. The gov'nor's sure to come up smiling when you 



296 CHARLES DICKENS. 

call time, and the more's wanted out of him, the more 
you gets." They were very watchful and devoted to 
him (as he was to them), and frequently by many little 
acts of attention showed their love and affection for 
him. George Allison (the gasman), in particular was 
described by Dickens as the " steadiest and most reli- 
able man I ever employed." 

The nearest approach to an actual collapse occurred 
at the third Reading of the Boston farewells, when up 
to four o'clock in the afternoon it became a matter of 
grave doubt whether he would be able to read or not. 
Longfellow, Fields, and several of his friends from 
Cambridge University urged him to give in, but he 
would not, and at night astonished not only himself, 
but his audience also at his extraordinary powers of 
recuperation when once he found himself face to face 
with his taski On this particular occasion, he said, 
he felt fresher and better after the Reading than he had 
done for three weeks previously. The severe attack of 
the afternoon seemed to be the turning-point of the 
" true American," and the greatest anxiety was now as 
to whether it had left a lasting injury to the lungs. 
In addition to this, the lameness, and the pain resulting 
from it, became more acute, rendering walking a great 
difficulty, and it was only with the help of my arm that 
he could be got to the little table and away from it 
after the Readings. 

The news of Mr. Dickens's illness soon spread in 



"THE KIND FAIR HANDS UNKNOWN." 297 

Boston, and many were the inquiries at the hotel as to 
the state of his health. When it became known (late 
in the afternoon) that he would read, some ladies gained 
access to the hall and decorated the reading-table with 
the choicest of flowers and exotics — a compliment 
which he highly appreciated, and the more so as it was 
quite unexpected. Before commencing the Reading, he 
addressed the following words to his audience : *' Ladies 
and gentlemen, before allowing Doctor Marigold to tell 
his story in his own peculiar way, I kiss the kind fair 
hands unknown which have so beautifully decorated 
my table this evening.'* These words, as graceful as 
the compliment paid him by the ladies, drew forth the 
most enthusiastic applause, which may have had the 
effect of causing Mr. Dickens to forget his own dis- 
comforts for the time being, and thereby contributing 
largely to the success of the Reading. 

The state of his health at this time rendered it 
impossible for him to accept any invitations to attend 
meetings either of a public or private character, and a 
public demonstration in the form of a farewell banquet 
had to be declined — a disappointment not only to the 
organizers of it, but to Mr. Dickens himself; for he 
was anxious to meet his friends once more, that he 
might express to them in public his appreciation of the 
liberality and kindheartedness displayed towards him 
in Boston. This, however, under the circumstances, 
was not to be done. 



298 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Although disappointed in this respect, there was one 
pleasure which he had promised himself, in which he 
was determined not to be thwarted, and which, not being 
dependent on his personal presence, was the easier of 
accomplishment. 

The difficulty which presented itself was as to the man- 
ner in which he could carry out his design. He was 
desirous of leaving behind him, in a substantial form, 
some trace of his second visit to America. It was not 
easy to decide on the course to be adopted. Anything 
in the form of ostentation was abhorrent to him. He 
would perform an act of charity or benevolence in the 
most liberal and ungrudging manner, without ever 
referring to it afterwards ; indeed, he would avoid the 
subject as if ashamed of the good he had done. 

To give a sum of money to some charitable institu- 
tion did not accord with his views, as in his opinion very 
little permanent good to those for whom the money 
was subscribed ever came of this means, besides which 
it had a purse-proud and ostentatious appearance ; and 
if he gave money to the Boston institutions in any 
appreciable amount, the same thing would have to be 
done in the other cities in the Union. Again, in the 
large cities of America there are not so many needy 
persons as in England. 

Going into his bed-room on one of my midnight visits, 
I found him as usual wide awake and very cheerful. 
Desiring me to sit down, he had a matter on his mind 



THE CHIEFS GIFT TO THE BLIND. 299 

which was causing him great anxiety, and then took me 
to his confidence. 

Having visited one of the Blind Asylums in Boston 
during the early part of his visit there, and his sym- 
pathies being always with the afflicted, especially the 
dumb and the blind, he had been much struck (as he had 
been at home) with the limited area of literature placed 
at the disposal of these sufferers, the New Testament 
and Dr. Watts's hymns being in his experience the only 
books ever placed in their hands. For the former, no one 
had a greater reverence than himself, it being the book 
of all others he read the most, and ** the one unfailing 
guide in life ; *' but with all his admiration and rever- 
ence for this book, it was always a mystery to him that 
the blind had no other books than these two placed in 
their hands, with which to while away the hours of 
their perpetual darkness. 

So he gave me instructions to ascertain the cost of 
having one of his own books ('* The Old Curiosity 
Shop ") produced in raised letters for the use of the 
blind in each asylum in the union. 

I was bound to secrecy in the matter, and was per- 
mitted only to take the kind doctor of the asylum into 
my confidence. This being done, and a calculation 
having been made of the cost (an appreciable sum of 
money), the order was given, and some months after 
we had left America the books were distributed. 

So well did the doctor keep the secret, that the dis- 



300 CHARLES DICKENS. 

tribution of the books was the first intimation the 
public had of Mr. Dickens's kindness. Even Fields, 
who was in our confidence in most things, was unaware 
of the good that had been done until Mr. Dickens's 
return to England, when in the following July the latter 
wrote to him in the following words : ** I am delighted to 
find you both so well pleased with the blind book scheme. 
I said nothing of it to you when we were together, 
though I had made up my mind, because I wanted to 
come upon you with that little burst from a distance. 
It seemed something like meeting again, when I 
remitted the money and thought of you talking of it." 

The scheme having been so successfully carried out, 
no reference was ever made to it afterwards, either in 
public or private, which, to some extent, is to be 
regretted, as so noble an act, if made public, might 
have suggested to the minds of benevolently disposed 
persons (who are frequently at a loss to know in what 
way to bestow their charity), to do a similar act for the 
suffering blind in this country. 

On Thursday, April 8th, the farewell Reading took 
place in Boston, the subjects being the " Christmas 
Carol " and the *' Trial from Pickwick." 

Notable as had been the first Reading in America 
some four months previously, the success of it was 
as nothing compared with this final one, not only as 
regards the company assembled — all the notabilities of 
Boston being assembled — but as regards the success of 



FAREWELL TO BOSTON. 301 

the Reading itself, and the effect produced on the 
audience. 

The receipts, which were the largest of any Reading 
in America, amounted to $3,456. 

On the termination of the " Carol " with the words 
*'And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us every 
one," the audience were no less affected than the reader 
himself; and when it was seen that Mr. Dickens had left 
the platform, the pent-up feelings of the people found 
vent in an overpowering outburst of enthusiasm, causing 
him to return to the platform to bow his acknowledg- 
ments. The "Trial from Pickwick" which followed 
was provocative of the most uproarious laughter, Mr. 
Dickens giving it, if possible, with more than his usual 
sense of humour. Then came a storm of applause, 
and Mr. Dickens once more went on to the platform, 
with the tears rolling down his cheeks, to say " Fare- 
well," and not only were the tears visible in his eyes, 
but they communicated themselves to his voice, in 
delivering the following words : 

" Ladies and Gentlemen, — My gracious and generous 
welcome in America, which can never be obliterated 
from my remembrance, began here. My departure 
begins here too : for I assure you that I have never 
until this moment really felt that I am going away. 
In this brief life of ours it is sad to do almost any- 
thing for the last time, and I cannot conceal from 
you, although my face will so soon be turned towards 



302 CHARLES DICKENS. 

my native land, and to all that makes it dear, that 
it is a sad consideration with me that in a few 
moments from this time this brilliant hall and all 
that it contains will fade from my view for evermore. 
But it is my consolation that the spirit of the bright 
faces, the quick perception, the ready response, the 
generous and the cheering sounds that have made this 
place delightful to me, will remain ; and you may rely 
upon it that that spirit will abide with me as long as I 
have sense and sentiment left. 

" I do not say this with any limited reference to 
private friendships that have for years upon years made 
Boston a memorable and beloved spot for me, for such 
private references have no business in this public place. 
I say it purely in remembrance of, and in homage to, 
the great public heart before me. 

*' Ladies and Gentlemen, — I beg most earnestly, 
most gratefully, and most affectionately, to bid each 
and all farewell." 

The effect produced by this little speech can be better 
understood than described, and perhaps the dead silence 
which for the moment ensued on its delivery was the 
best compliment which could be paid to it, nor was 
it until Mr. Dickens had left the platform that the 
public seemed to realize the fact that he, who had 
become so much a part of themselves, had really 
vanished for evermore from Boston eyes. 

The privacy of the dressing-room was invaded by 



WE RETURN TO NEW YORK. 303 

intimate friends, to whom it was difficult to refuse 
admission, so eager were they to have one more oppor- 
tunity of saying one more parting word. 

After some time we were left to ourselves, and 
allowed to retire to our hotel, and to make arrange- 
ments for our departure from Boston, to take our leave 
of the New York public and of America. 

In Mr. Dickens' state of health it was necessary 
that he should observe the strictest privacy on returning 
to the Parker House, and our supper party on this 
occasion was confined to ourselves ; for, in addition to 
the fatigue of the journey to New York, there was 
much to be gone through there besides the Readings, 
which of themselves were sufficient fatigue for one 
suffering as he was, without the additional anxiety of an 
ordeal in the shape of a public banquet, which had been 
arranged should be given to him by the press-men of 
America, under the presidency of Mr. Horace Greeley. 

This banquet was to take place at Delmonico's, on 
Saturday, April i8th, and in its arrangements and 
results was one of the most brilliant of its kind ever 
held in the Empire City. 

We were accompanied in our last journey from 
Boston by Mr. and Mrs. Fields, who remained with us 
until our departure from America, and although every 
precaution had been taken to make the journey as 
comfortable for an invalid as is possible in a railway 
car, it was with a feeling of the utmost satisfaction 



304 CHARLES DICKENS. 

that we found ourselves once more under the hospitable 
roof of the Westminster Hotel in New York, with a 
clear day's rest before us, prior to the commencement 
of the New York farewells, on Monday the 13th. 

The political trouble in the country had certainly 
affected our prospects for these farewells, and although 
the outlook was not a cheerful one at the commence- 
ment, the public was true to its favourite, and the 
average receipts were in no-wise short of those of 
previous Readings in New York. The enthusiasm had 
not in the least abated, and the only drawback to the 
enjoyment of the Readings was the evident pain from 
which Mr. Dickens was suffering in walking to and 
from the little table, whither he was led leaning on 
my arm. 

Amidst all the turmoil and anxiety of the farewell 
Readings, the Press Dinner, and Mr. Dickens' state 
of health, a new excitement was in store for us, in the 
shape of a tax collector, and more sheriffs' officers. 

Whilst seated at dinner, on the evening of the last 
Reading but one in New York, and the evening before 
the Press Dinner, I was summoned out of our room 
to see two gentlemen, who had called " on very urgent 
business." 

Having presented myself to them, they proceeded to 
explain their business, which was to the effect that 
either Mr. Dickens or myself had again broken the 
laws of the country, in not making a return of our 






304 



OUR OLD FRIENDS TURN UP AGAIN. 305 

income whilst in America. The two gentlemen were 
not desirous of putting Mr. Dickens to any incon- 
venience in the matter, personally; and if I would 
accept service of a summons for him as well as myself 
to appear before a judge on the following Thursday, to 
explain the reason of our not making a return, and if 
at the same time I would fill up the income-tax papers 
they had with them, showing what our incomes had 
been in the States, much " trouble " might be prevented. 
I explained that, having the authority of the head of 
the Internal Revenue Department (and I quoted the 
authority), to the effect that neither Mr. Dickens nor 
myself (as foreigners) were liable, added to which the 
Act of Congress distinctly stated that persons travelling 
for the purpose of giving " occasional lectures " were 
not liable for income-tax, I did not see any reason why 
I should attend, or take any notice of the summons, 
especially as on the day for which it was appointed I 
was greatly in hopes that both Mr. Dickens and myself 
would be some three hundred miles out at sea in the 
Russia, Apart from that, I had not sufficient money in 
America to meet so heavy a demand, having sent all the 
money we had (with the exception of what we required 
for our personal uses), to Coutts's bank in England by 
the previous mail. My remonstrances seemed of little 
avail, for my visitors intimated to me that they should 
at once take steps to arrest that night's receipts, and 
the receipts of the last Reading. 



3o6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

I pleaded that, the tickets being all *' sold out " for 
these Readings, the course they pursued was quite 
unnecessary, not to mention that any such action would 
certainly end in the bailiffs being first kicked out of the 
Steinway Hall, and then handed over to the police foi 
safe custody. 

This threatened mode of proceeding, and the more 
reasonable arguments I had made use of, seemed to 
satisfy my two friends for the moment, and on my 
promising to call on the collector on the following 
morning, they retired. 

Punctually at ten the next morning, I was with the 
" collector,'* whose reception of me was of the most 
unbending description. Having previously made in- 
quiries about this official, I had discovered he was the 
brother of an old friend of Dickens in Boston, during 
the time of Mr. Dickens's first visit to America in 
1842. This brother having fallen out of the clique 
in Boston for reasons of his own (not that that made 
any difference to Mr. Dickens at the time of his second 
visit), the "collector" in New York being unaware 
that Mr. Dickens visited his friend as of old, thought 
to cause annoyance by making him suffer financially 
for the imaginary wrong he had inflicted on his brother 
in Boston 1 

There was also another reason. It had occurred to 
the official mind of Mr. Collector that if he, in his 
district, could pay into the coffers of the Treasury 



THE MANAGER BEARDS THE COLLECTOR. 307 

Department so large a sum as five per cent, (which was 
the income-tax then) on Mr. Dickens's receipts (nearly 
$12,000), his chances of retaining his appointment 
under the new Presidency — should Andrew Johnson be 
turned out — would be very great. 

These two circumstances were sufficient of them- 
selves to account for my reception at the hands of the 
collector, who perhaps under different conditions would 
have been a fairer specimen of an American official 
than he appeared then. 

Giving me a chair, and placing his back against an 
anthracite coal fire, he opened the interview by saying : 

** Well, Mr. Dolby, this is an unpleasant business 
you have let Mr. Dickens in for ; what are you going 
to do about it ? " 

** Did your officers tell you the result of my interview 
with them last evening?" I replied. 

" Certainly." 

" Well then," I said, "the next question is, what are 
you going to do about it ? " 

" Let us understand one another, Mr. Dolby. Do 
you mean to make a return of the amount of money 
Mr. Dickens has received in this country, or do you 
not ? " 

"Sir! Here is a letter from the chief of your 

department" (handing him the letter), "assuring me 

that Mr. Dickens is not liable for any tax in this 

country, and on that authority I resist any claim that 

II 



3o8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

you, or any one similarly placed, may make on me or 
Mr. Dickens in respect of his Readings." 

" In the first place," replied the collector, " I don't 
care a for the opinion of the chief of my depart- 
ment, as you call him, any way ; and I may tell you 
at once, that unless you come to some arrangement 
with me for the payment of this money before leaving 
this room, you must look out for trouble." 

I asked him, " What do you mean by trouble ? " 

*' Well, it's just this," said the collector. ** You say 
Mr. Dickens' hasn't got any money in this country." 

" Not enough to meet your demands, even if they 
were legitimate," said I ; ** and you ought to know, as 
does every one else, that Mr. Dickens would be the 
last man in the world to evade a just claim upon him. 
So if you can prove to me, betwixt this and Tuesday 
afternoon next, at four o'clock, that you have a claim, I 
will take measures to satisfy that claim before we leave 
the country on Wednesday next." 

"Admitting that what you say is true, Mr. Dolby, 
viz., that you and Mr. Dickens have no more money in 
this country than you want, will you, if I give you 
an undertaking not to arrest you (as a hostage), on 
the Russia on Wednesday next, give me an order on 
Messrs. Ticknor and Fields for the payment of $10,000 
in gold if I can prove that my claim on behalf of my 
Government is a fair, legal, and just one ? " 

" I refuse to give you an order on Messrs. Ticknor 



ANOTHER THREAT OF ARREST. 309 

and Fields, or any one else ; for I rest Mr. Dickens's 
exemption from this tax on a much higher official 
than yours." 

" You mean to tell me, then, that you intend leaving 
America on Wednesday without paying this money ? " 

" I do." 

** Then good morning, Mr. Dolby ; and if you are 
arrested on Wednesday, you will have the satisfaction 
of knowing that you will not be the first manager who 
has been arrested on the steamer when leaving this 
country." 

This interview being over, I left the collector to his 
duties, and wended my way back to the hotel to report 
the result of it, and to arrange with Mr. Dickens what 
it was best to do under the circumstances, and to do 
my best to get him round for the great event of the 
evening, viz., the Press Dinner. 

On my return to the hotel, I found him worse in 
health than I anticipated, and but little disposed to 
discuss or undertake any fresh annoyance, the pain in 
his right foot supplying this to an unlimited extent. 
With a view to the evening's work, and also in the 
hope of being able to afford Mr. Dickens some relief 
from the pain he was suffering, the collector and his 
threats had to be put on one side for a time, the 
attendance of Dr. Fordyce Barker being absolutely 
necessary. 

I found H. D. Palmer in Mr. Dickens's room, and 



3IO CHARLES DICKENS. 

gave him the account of my interview with the col- 
lector, and asked his advice, as a thoroughly practical 
American, and one well up in the laws of his country. 

The advice Palmer gave me was to consult Mr. 
William Booth (the brother of Edwin Booth), a dis- 
tinguished lawyer; and if necessary, to send him off 
to Washington that evening to report the collector to 
his superiors, and get them to telegraph to that official, 
censuring him for his excess of zeal. 

Palmer's advice being adopted, Mr. Booth started 
for Washington, and I having nothing more to think 
about on that score, gave myself up to the course of 
treatment recommended by the doctor. He found Mr. 
Dickens suffering from an attack of erysipelas, which 
had caused the foot to swell to such an extent that all 
hope of getting a boot on was out of the question ; and 
the only chance there was of Mr. Dickens being able 
to go to the dinner would be in the bandaging of the 
painful member, and hiding the bandages by a gout- 
stocking — if such an article could be found in New 
York — a doubt which at the time struck me as being 
far-fetched. However it did not turn out to be so, for 
I drove about the city for over two hours, calling at all 
the principal drug stores without getting what I wanted, 
being informed everywhere that "gout was unknown 
in New York," a circumstance on which New York is 
to be congratulated. By a happy chance, however, I 
heard of an English gentleman who was occasionally 



THE PRESS DINNER. 3" 

afflicted in this way, and making my wants known to 
him, he readily supplied my requirements ; and but for 
this it would have been impossible for Mr. Dickens to 
attend the banquet so generously and thoughtfully given 
in his honour. 

As Mr. Dickens was more than an hour late, and as 
his state of health was well known, grave disappoint- 
ment prevailed at the prospect of the guest of the even- 
ing not being able to be present to partake of the 
hospitality of the New York press-men. 

From five o'clock, the hour when the guests began 
to assemble, messengers were running from Delmonico's 
to the Westminster Hotel eager in their inquiries as to 
the possibility of Mr. Dickens being able to attend the 
banquet ; and at half-past five the final bulletin was 
despatched, announcing that, thanks to the successful 
application of lotions and careful bandaging, Mr. Dickens 
would use his best endeavours to be present — an 
announcement received with tremendous cheers. 

Precisely at six o'clock, Mr. Dickens and myself 
arrived at Delmonico's, and being received at the door 
of this establishment by Mr. Horace Greeley and the 
committee (the band playing *' God save the Queen "), 
Mr. Dickens was conducted, leaning on the arm of 
Horace Greeley, into the banqueting-hall to his place 
at the table, and, although suffering the greatest of 
pain, was pleasurably impressed by the geniality of 
his welcome. 



312 CHARLES DICKENS. 

There were over two hundred gentlemen present on 
the occasion, and this assemblage of newspaper men 
was said to be the largest ever seen in America. 

In addition to the speech of the president, speeches 
were made by representative men from all parts of the 
States, including Henry John Raymond, William H. 
Hurlburt, George William Curtis, Charles Eliot Nor- 
ton, and many others. The brilliancy of the scene, and 
the good taste and delicacy of the speakers, caused Mr. 
Dickens to forget his own sufferings for the time, and 
in a speech characteristic alike for its e irnestness and 
truthfulness he thanked the American people, through 
them, for their reception of him throughout his Reading 
tour. 

Although this speech has been printed elsewhere, it 
is reproduced here as forming a part of one of the most 
brilliant tours ever undertaken in the United States of 
America by a single individual. 

Replying to the toast of the evening, proposed by the 
president, and received with loud hurrahs and waving of 
handkerchiefs, which lasted for some moments, Mr. 
Dickens said : 

*' Gentlemen, — I cannot do better than take my 
cue from your distinguished president, and refer at 
once to his remarks in connection with the old 
natural association between you and me. When I 
received an invitation from a private association of 
working members of the press of New York, to dine 



SPEECH TO THE PRESS-MEN. 313 

with them to-day, I accepted that compliment in 
grateful remembrance of a calling that was once my 
own, and in loyal sympathy with the brotherhood which, 
in the spirit, I have never quitted. To the wholesome 
training of severe newspaper work, when I was a very 
young man, I constantly refer my first successes ; and 
my sons will hereafter testify of their father, that he 
was always steadily proud of that ladder by which he 
rose. If it were otherwise I should have a very poor 
opinion of their father, which perhaps, upon the whole, 
I have not. Hence, gentlemen, under any circum- 
stances this company would have been exceptionally 
interesting and gratifying to me ; but whereas I sup- 
posed that, like the fairy's pavilion in the * Arabian 
Nights,' it would be but a mere handful, and I find it 
turn out, like the same elastic pavilion, capable of 
comprehending a multitude ; so much the more proud 
am I of the honour of being your guest ; for you will 
readily believe that the more widely representative of 
the press in America my entertainers are, the more I 
must feel the good-will and the kindly sentiment to- 
wards me of that vast institution. Gentlemen, so much 
of my voice has lately been heard in the land, and I 
have for upwards of four hard winter months so 
contended against what I have been sometimes quite 
admiringly told was a true American catarrh — a posses- 
sion which I have throughout highly appreciated, though 
I might have preferred to be naturalized by any other 



314 CHARLES DICKENS. 

outward and visible signs. I say, gentlemen, so much of 
my voice has lately been heard, that I might have been 
contented with troubling you no further from my 
present standing-point, were it not a duty with which I 
henceforth charge myself, not only here, but on every 
suitable occasion whatsoever and wheresoever, to ex- 
press my high and grateful sense of my second recep- 
tion in America, and to bear my honest testimony to 
the national generosity and magnanimity ; also to 
declare how astounded I have been by the amazing 
changes that I have seen around me on every side — 
changes moral, changes physical, changes in the amount 
of land subdued and peopled, changes in the rise of 
vast new cities, changes in the growth of older cities 
almost out of recognition, changes in the graces and 
amenities of life, changes in the press, without whose ad- 
vancement no advancement can be made anywhere. Nor 
am I, believe me, so arrogant as to suppose that in five 
and twenty years there has been no change in me, and 
that I had nothing to learn, and no extreme impressions 
to correct, when I was here first ; and, gentlemen, this 
brings me to a point on which I have, ever since I 
landed here last November, observed a strict silence, 
though tempted sometimes to break it, but in reference 
to which I will, with your good leave, take you into my 
confidence now. Even the press, being human, may 
be sometimes mistaken or misinformed, and I rather 
think that I have, in one or two rare instances, known 



NEW IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA. 315 

its information to be not perfectly accurate with refer- 
ence to myself; indeed, I have now and again been 
more surprised by printed news that I have read of 
myself, than by any printed news that I have ever read 
in my present state of existence. Thus, the vigour and 
perseverance with which I have for some months past 
been collecting materials for, and hammering away at, 
a new book on America have much astonished me, see- 
ing that all that time it has been perfectly well known 
to my publishers on both sides of the Atlantic, that I 
positively declared that no consideration on earth should 
induce me to write one ; but what I have intended, 
what I have resolved upon (and this is the confidence I 
seek to place in you), is on my return to England, in 
my own person, to bear for the behoof of my country- 
men, such testimony to the gigantic changes in this 
country as I have hinted at to-night ; also to record 
that wherever I have been, in the smallest places equally 
with the largest, I have been received with unsur- 
passable politeness, delicacy, sweet temper, hospitality, 
consideration, and with unsurpassable respect for the 
privacy daily enforced upon me by the nature of my 
avocation here, and the state of my health. This testi- 
mony, so long as I live, and so long as my descendants 
have any legal right in my books, I shall cause to be 
republished as an appendix to every copy of those two 
books of mine in which I have referred to America ; 
and this I will do, or cause to be done, not in mere love 



3i6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

and thankfulness, but because I regard it as an act 
of plain justice and honour. 

Gentlemen, the transition from my own feelings 
towards, and interest in, America, to those of the 
mass of my countrymen seems to be a natural one. 
" I was asked in this very city, about last Christmas 
time, why an American was not at a disadvantage in 
England as a foreigner. The notion of an American 
being regarded in England as a foreigner at all, of his 
ever being thought of or spoken of in that character, 
was so uncommonly incongruous and absurd to me 
that my gravity wavS for the moment quite overpowered ; 
as soon as it was restored, I said that for years and 
years past I hoped I had had as many American friends, 
and had received as many American visitors, as almost 
any Englishman living, and that my unvarying expe- 
rience, fortified by others, was that it was enough in 
England to be an American to be received with the 
readiest respect and recognition anywhere. Hereupon, 
out of half a dozen people, suddenly spoke out two — one 
an American gentleman with a cultivated taste for art, 
who, finding himself on a certain Sunday outside the 
walls of a certain historical English castle famous for 
its pictures, was refused admission there, according to 
the strict rules of the establishment on that day ; but 
who, on merely representing that he was an American 
gentleman on his travels, had, not to say the picture 
gallery, but the whole castle placed at his immediate 



AMERICANS IN ENGLAND. 317 

disposal. The other was a lady, who, being in London 
and having a great desire to see the famous reading 
room of the British Museum, was assured by the Eng- 
lish family with whom she stayed that it was unfor- 
tunately impossible, because the place was closed for a 
week, and she had only three days there; upon that 
lady's going to the Museum, as she assured me, alone 
to the gate, self-introduced as an American lady, the 
gate flew open, as it were, magically. I am unwillingly 
bound to add that she certainly was young and exceed- 
ingly pretty ; still, the porter of that institution is of an 
obese habit, and according to the best of my observation 
of him, not very susceptible. Now, gentlemen, I refer 
to these trifles as a collateral assurance to you that the 
Englishman who so humbly strives, as I hope to do, to 
be in England as faithful to America as to England 
herself, has no previous conceptions to contend against. 
Points of difference there have been, points of difference 
there probably always will be, between the two great 
peoples ; but broadcast in England is sown the senti- 
ment that those two peoples are essentially one, and 
that it rests with them jointly to uphold the great 
Anglo-Saxon race, to which our president has referred, 
and all its great achievements before the world ; and if 
I know anything of Englishmen— and they give me 
credit for knowing something— if I know anything of 
my countrymen, gentlemen, the English heart is stirred 
by the flutter of those Stars and Stripes as it is stirred 



3i8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

by no other flag that flies, except its own. (The 
audience here gave three cheers.) If I know my coun- 
trymen, in any and every relation towards America, 
they begin, not as Sir Anthony Absolute recommended 
that lovers should begin, with * a little aversion,* but 
with a great liking and a profound respect ; and what- 
ever the little sensitiveness of the moment, or the little 
official passion, or the little official policy now or then 
or here or there may be, take my word for it that the 
first enduring great popular consideration in England is 
a generous construction of justice. Finally, gentlemen, 
and I say this subject to your correction, I do believe 
that from the great majority of honest minds on both 
sides, there cannot be absent the conviction that it 
would be better for the globe to be riven by earthquake, 
fired by comet, overrun by an iceberg, and abandoned 
to the Arctic fox and bear, than that it should present 
the spectacle of these two great nations, each of which 
has in its own way and hour striven so hard and so 
successfully for freedom, ever again being arrayed, the 
one against the other. Gentlemen, I cannot thank 
your president enough, or you enough, for your kind 
reception of my health, and of my poor remarks ; but, 
believe me, I do thank you with the utmost fervour of 
which my soul is capable." 

The speech being concluded, the breathless silence 
which had prevailed during the delivery of it was 
broken in a loud burst of applause, the band again 



THE LAST READING IN AMERICA 319 

playing ** God save the Queen," the vast assemblage 
standing up the while, and joining heartily in the 
chorus. 

Mr. Dickens' state of health rendered it necessary 
that he should leave the banqueting-hall prior to the 
termination of the proceedings, and leaning on the arm 
of Horace Greeley, as on arriving, he was lustily cheered 
by his hosts — the press-men of America. 

The following day was one of great anxiety for our 
little staff. The old illness had asserted itself again, 
and I was in close attendance on my Chief during the 
two nights preceding the ordeal of the farewell Reading. 
Fields and Osgood were with us the whole time, and 
were unremitting in their attentions, as were many 
other kind friends ; and thanks to the medical skill of 
Dr. Fordyce Barker, the patient was sufficiently well 
to give the " Christmas Carol " and the " Trial from 
Pickwick," for the last time in America, to an audience 
numbering over two thousand persons, yielding a return 
of $3,298, the second largest receipt in America, and 
this exclusive of the premiums obtained by the ticket 
speculators, which, on that occasion, as on all others, 
must have been enormous. 

On the termination of the Reading, Mr. Dickens 
made a short speech, as follows : 

" Ladies and Gentlemen, — The shadow of one word 
has impended over me this evening, and the time has 
conie at length when the shadow must fall. It is but 



320 CHARLES DICKENS. 

a very short one, but the weight of such things is not 
measured by their length, and two much shorter words 
express the round of our human existence. 

" When I was reading ' David Copperfield * a few 
evenings since, I felt there was more than usual signifi- 
cance in the words of Peggotty, ' My future life lies over 
the sea; ' and when I closed this book just now, I felt 
most keenly that I was shortly to establish such an 
alibi as would have satisfied even the elder Mr. Weller. 
The relations which have been set up between us, 
while they have involved for me something more than 
mere devotion to a task, have been by you sustained 
with the readiest sympathy and the kindest acknow- 
ledgment. 

" These relations must now be broken for ever. Be 
assured, however, that you will not pass from my mind. 
I shall often realize you as I see you now, equally by 
my winter fireside, and in the green English summer 
weather. I shall never recall you as a mere public 
audience, but rather as a host of personal friends, and 
ever with the greatest gratitude, tenderness, and con- 
sideration. Ladies and gentlemen, I beg to bid you 
farewell. God bless you, and God bless the land in 
which I leave you." 

This little speech, like all the impromptu ones de- 
livered by Mr. Dickens on all occasions, was listened 
to with rapt attention, and after many recalls, and 
much shouting, cheering, and waving of handkerchiefs, 



THE COLLECTOR IS IMPLACABLE. 321 

Mr. Dickens retired from the platform, never any more 
to appear in public in America. 

Since the departure of Mr. Booth for Washington, 
telegraphic communication was being vigorously kept 
up between that gentleman and myself, and in the 
course of the farewell Reading I received a telegram 
from him to the effect that matters had been satis- 
factorily arranged in Washington, and that he would 
return to New York on the following day. The tele- 
gram stated further that the department had telegraphed 
to the collector informing him he was in the wrong, 
and instructing him to desist from taking further action 
in the matter. 

Calling on the collector the following morning, I 
found him more intent on causing annoyance than he 
had been during the previous week ; and setting the 
higher authorities at defiance, expressed his determina- 
tion of arresting me as hostage, unless I carried out 
the conditions he had imposed at our first interview. 
So, regarding his threats as empty ones, I bade him 
*' good-bye," and left him to carry them out if he felt 
so disposed. 

Our last day in New York was a busy one, and was 
passed in making preparations for our departure on the 
following day, and such calls as are incidental to the 
duties involved by a long stay in any large city ; and 
in the reception of visitors calling to bid their adieux 
to the great man who had afforded the Americans so 



322 CHARLES DICKENS. 

much pleasure by his works and his presence amongst 
them. 

Our rooms presented the appearance of a railway 
parcels office and a flower market combined, the larger 
cases containing presents of wine (for the voyage !) of 
the choicest description, boxes of cigars, pictures, some 
very large books, and photographs, the whole forming 
such an incongruous mass that it was with difficulty 
we could move about our apartments. Regretting as we 
did having to leave so many kind friends, it was with 
a sense of painful relief that we anticipated the morrow 
when we should say " farewell," and in that one word 
cut the chord that was from hour to hour the cause of 
such painful suspense. 

In order to avoid as much as possible the crowd at 
the wharf of the Cunard Company on the departure of 
the Russia, an old friend of Mr. Dickens's (who was to 
be one of our fellow-passengers) had placed his private 
tug at our disposal to convey us, and such of our 
personal friends who were to accompany us on board, 
to the ship, which had steamed down the bay, and was 
lying at her moorings, off Staten Island, awaiting mails 
and passengers. 

Although this plan had been kept as secret as 
possible, it became known to many persons that such 
was Mr. Dickens's intention, and a large crowd had 
collected outside the Westminster Hotel to witness 
his departure. 



MR. COMMISSIONER KENNEDY. 323 

On emerging from the hotel, he was greeted by a 
loud cheer, and on entering his carriage, bouquets 
thrown from the windows of the hotel fell at his feet, 
the scene resembling more the going-off of a wedding 
party, than the departure of an individual attired in a 
costume equal to the exigencies of a sea voyage. 

At the foot of Spring Street, the tug with its owner 
(Mr. W. D. Morgan), and several invited friends were 
awaiting us, and after a pleasant sail of half an hour 
we were alongside the Russia. 

The Cunard Company, with characteristic liberality, 
had prepared a special lunch for Mr. Dickens and his 
guests. The saloon tables were laden with floral 
tributes to the Chief, with the cards of the donors 
attached to them ; nor were these delicate attentions 
confined to the saloon, but his state-room (the chief 
steward's on deck) was also florally decorated. 

In the midst of the lunch, when every one was in the 
enjoyment of the good things provided by the company, 
an officer reported to the captain that the police boat 
was making for the Russia, an announcement that did 
not tend to my enjoyment, for the thought occurred to 
our party that the collector meant business, and had 
put his threats into execution. For the moment I 
regarded myself in the light of a hostage, as did also 
our friends. In a very short time, however, all fears in 
this respect were terminated by the appearance in the 
saloon of Mr. Commissioner Kennedy (the chief of 



324 CHARLES DICKENS. 

police), an intimate friend of my own, and Mr. Thurlow 
Weed, an old friend of Mr. Dickens's. 

These gentlemen had called on Mr. Dickens and 
myself at our hotel, to bid us "good-bye," and finding 
we had left there, steamed down the bay after us. The 
weather was bitterly cold, and the snow was still lying 
about the country. The keen air had sharpened the 
appetites of our new guests, and my friend Mr. 
Kennedy's mind was more firmly fixed on the hot soup, 
and the lunch, than on any matter of official duty at 
that moment. 

A stroll on deck and a cigar after the lunch, and I 
had an opportunity of placing before him my anxieties 
in respect of the collector. 

He had heard something about it, and had come to 
the Russia prepared to protect Mr. Dickens and myself, 
if necessary, from any insult that might be offered us. 

Calling to his own steamer, in a manner so as not 
to attract attention from our friends, he brought four 
of his own private detectives on board. 

Introducing me to them, he explained that I was 
apprehensive of some trouble when the passenger 
tender arrived, and gave instructions to his officers 
that I was to be carefully guarded, and if any one 
molested me in any way, the delinquent was to be 
instantly arrested, and brought before him at his head- 
quarters in Mulberry Street. 

As there was still a good hour before the passengers 



"TWO ROUGH-LOOKING MEN." 325 

and the mails were due, my protectors were taken care 
of in the officers' mess-room, and we were left to our- 
selves and the enjoyment of our friends' society. 

The officers of the law in the States having autho- 
rity to arrest any one, whether on civil or criminal 
charges, wear a small brooch or badge, which is affixed 
to the collar of the waistcoat, on the left breast, 
and being hidden by the lappel of the coat, is only 
exhibited when in the cause of duty, in the service of a 
warrant, &c. 

When the time came for the arrival of the passenger 
tender my four protectors moved about, as I did, never 
leaving me for an instant. There was an enormous 
crowd in the passenger-boat, which was composed of 
all sorts and conditions of men, amongst them several 
personal friends, including M. du Chaillu (the African 
traveller), Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, who 
was the bearer of a magnificent basket of flowers from 
Mrs. Childs, and, much to Mr. Dickens's delight and 
amazement, Mr. Anthony Trollope, who on the day of 
our departure had arrived out in the Scotia just in time 
to get on board the mail tender going to the Russia. 
His advent to America had not been heralded, and the 
surprise at seeing him was only equalled by the cordi- 
ality of the meeting of the two friends. 

Having occasion to go below to my state-room, I 
was stopped at the head of the companion by two 
rough-looking men, in seal-skin caps, who, walking up 



326 CHARLES DICKENS. 

to me, proceeded to unbutton their coats and to show 
their badge of office; and whilst fumbling in their 
pockets, in the evident search of a document of some 
kind, my four friends imitated their action by doing as 
they had done, and, displaying their badge of office, 
remarked, *' Too late, we've got him ! " Seeing the 
police badges, which it is to be presumed take prece- 
dence in matters of arrest, and also seeing the police 
boat alongside, the civil officers seemed satisfied that I 
could not leave the country ; and the first bell, to warn 
those who are going ashore to leave the ship, being 
rung, the collector's officials beat a hasty retreat, with 
no more harm done than a hearty laugh at their 
expense. 

The collector, as we afterwards heard, was very irate 
to find I had got away, and some weeks afterwards 
served Messrs. Ticknor and Fields with some process 
in the hope of arresting any monies they might have in 
hand belonging to Mr. Dickens, through the sale of his 
books in America. This coming to the knowledge of 
Mr. Dickens, instructions were sent to Mr. Booth from 
England to attend to the matter, and being so attended 
to, ended in the defeat of the collector. 

Such of our personal friends as could spare the time 
were invited by Mr. Kennedy to follow the Russia^ in 
his boat down the bay. Those who could not, had to 
return to the shore in the company's tender, which was 
the first to get off; but before this was possible much 



"COOD-BYE, BOZ!" . 327 

time had to be expended in the shaking of hands and 
the little speeches attendant on such an occasion. 

The departure of Charles Dickens from New York 
on this 22nd April, 1868, is thus described by the "New 
York Tribune " of the 23rd April : — 

** It was a lovely day — a clear blue sky overhead — as 
he stood resting on the rail, chatting with his friends, 
and writing an autograph for that one, the genial face 
all aglow with delight, it was seemingly hard to say the 
word * Farewell,' yet the tug-boat screamed the note of 
warning, and those who must return to the city went 
down the side. 

"All left save Mr. Fields. *Boz' held the hand of 
the publisher within his own. There was an unmis- 
takable look in both faces. The lame foot came down 
from the rail, and the friends were locked in each 
other's arms. 

"Mr. Fields then hastened down the side, not daring 
to look behind. The lines were * cast off.' 

" A cheer was given for Mr. Dolby, when Mr. Dickens 
patted him approvingly upon the shoulder, saying, 
* Good boy.' Another cheer for Mr. Dickens, and the 
tug steamed away. 

" ' Good-bye, Boz.* 

" * Good-bye,' from Mr. Fields, who stood the central 
figure of a group of three, Messrs. Du Chaillu and 
Childs upon each side. Then * Boz ' put his hat upon 
his cane, and waved it, and the answer came * Good- 
bye,' and * God bless you every one.'" 



328 CHARLES DICKENS. 

The police boat, and several private tugs and steam 
launches, in which were many ladies, followed us for 
some distance down the bay, and the evening rapidly 
closing in, the Russia was saluted by the miniature 
cannon on these craft, and then, turning round, sped 
their way to the city, leaving our noble ship to steam 
her way to England. 

We had not been at sea three days before there was 
an evident improvement in the state of Mr. Dickens's 
health. During this time he had to keep his room, but 
on the fourth day he was enabled to get a boot on his 
right foot and to take some exercise. The sea aii 
brought a return of appetite, and with this came a 
return of health. 

The voyage was a very rough one, but what did that 
matter? We were making one of the "fastest passages 
on record " at that time, and in a little over eight days 
from the time of leaving New York we were outside 
Queenstown Harbour, at four o'clock in the morning, 
waiting for the tender from the shore to relieve us of 
our mails, and to bring us letters from our homes ; and 
well within the ninth day we were comfortably housed 
in the Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, partaking of dinner at 
eight o'clock in the evening of May ist. 

When all collected together, on the deck of the 
Russia, our baggage looked enormous, and I had 
gloomy forebodings of what I should have to undergo 
to get it all through the Custom House in Liverpool, in 




CHARLES DUKF.XS AND GEORGE DOLBY. 

A cayicature from an American paper on the eve of their departure 
for England. 



328 



HOME ONCE MORE. 329 

anything like a reasonable time. These forebodings 
were not of long duration, and were allayed by the 
courtesy of the Surveyor of Customs at that port, who 
kindly volunteered to land us, and our men, with the 
effects in the mail boat. By this means we avoided 
the delay and inconvenience of a Custom House search, 
and saved some hours in arriving at our hotel. 

After so long and rough a voyage, we deemed it in- 
expedient to travel to London the same night by the 
mail train, and so, remaining quietly in Liverpool, we 
continued our journey the following day. Reaching 
the Euston Square Station at about three in the after- 
noon, we parted from one another as if we had arrived 
there from one of our ordinary English journeys. 

By arrangement, there were no friends to meet us at 
the station to give us welcome after our travels, and it 
was something almost ludicrous to see Mr. Dickens 
walk out of the station, bag in hand, on his way to the 
Charing Cross Station and Gad's Hill, where of course 
his arrival had been made known by telegraph to his 
family. 

The men had their instructions to take his portion of 
the baggage to the office, and to report there on a given 
day at the end of the following week, for the purposes 
of a settlement of their accounts, on which day I was 
to be there also for the same object. So with a hearty 
shake of the hand, we parted— he for his home in Kent, 
and I for my home in Herefordshire. 



330 CHARLES DICKENS. 

We had undergone so much in the way of demon- 
strations and ovations in America that, certainly for 
a time, Mr. Dickens was desirous of avoiding anything 
of the kind, feeling in want of rest and retirement after 
the fatigues and excitement of our campaign, and for 
this reason his arrival home was conducted in the 
manner described. 

It came to the knowledge of Miss Hogarth and Miss 
Dickens, that had the Chief arrived at his own 
station of Higham, the villagers had intended to take 
the horse out of his carriage, and to drag him to his 
own house. So, in order to avoid this, he arranged to 
have his carriage meet him at Gravesend, and to drive 
from there. The villagers, not to be done out of their 
anticipated pleasure, turned out on foot, and in their 
market carts and gigs ; and escorting Mr. Dickens on 
the road, kept on giving him shouts of welcome, the 
houses along the road being decorated with flags. His 
own servants wanted to ring the alarm bell in the 
little belfry at the top of the house, but that idea was 
speedily crushed. The following day being Sunday, 
the bells of his own church rang out a peal after the 
morning service in honour of his return. 

Meeting Mr. Dickens on the following Thursday 
named, I was surprised to find all traces of his late 
fatigues and ill-health had disappeared, and, to quote 
the words of his own medical man, he was looking 
" seven years younger.'* The sea air, and the four days* 



TOTAL RECEIPTS, $228,000. 331 

rest at Gad's Hill, favoured by beautiful weather, had 
brightened him so that he looked as if he had never had 
a day's illness in his life. 

Already he had entered thoroughly into the work 
of the office, and it became doubly necessary that he 
should do so, for during the last three weeks of our 
stay in America a correspondent had informed Mr. 
Dickens of an accident which had befallen Mr. Wills 
whilst hunting, from which he was then suffering, 
and was greatly in want of rest in consequence, thus 
throwing all the work of " All the Year Roun^^ " on 
Mr. Dickens. 

The closing of the American accounts revealed a 
state of affairs to Mr. Dickens, far in excess of his 
anticipations ; for beyond knowing from time to time 
the amounts I had remitted to his credit at Messrs. 
Coutts's, he had taken no particular notice of the 
details, as on leaving England for America he had 
determined on not troubling himself with these affairs 
until his return. 

The original scheme embraced eighty Readings in 
all, of which seyenty-six were actually given. 

Taking one city with another, the receipts averaged 
$3,000 each Reading, but as small places such as 
Rochester, New Bedford, and many others of the same 
class did not exceed $2,000 a night, the receipts in New 
York and Boston (where the largest sum was taken), 
far exceeded the $3,000 mentioned above. The total 
receipts were $228,000, and the expenses were $39,000, 



332 CHARLES DICKENS. 

including hotels, travelling expenses, rent of halls, &c., 
and, in addition, a commission of 5 % to Messrs. Ticknor 
and Fields on the gross receipts in Boston. The 
advertising expenses were very trifling — a preliminary 
advertisement announcing the sale of tickets being all 
that was necessary. 

The hotels for Mr. Dickens, myself, and occasionally 
Mr. Osgood, and our staff of three men averaged $60 
a day. Supposing gold to have been at par, it will be 
seen from the figures named that the profits of the 
enterprise would have been nearly ^f 38, 000; but as Mr. 
Dickens had no faith in American securities at that 
time, he preferred to convert the currency we received 
into gold, paying the difference 39J per cent., and an 
addition J per cent, for banker's commission. 

After paying all these charges, my commission, the 
preliminary expenses (^^614), and taking into account 
the money Mr. Dickens had drawn for his own 
personal uses, the profit on the enterprise amounted 
to nearly ^f 19,000. 

One remarkable circumstance in connection with the 
taking of so much money, and all in paper (greenbacks), 
is worthy of mention which is, that on the entire 
amount taken, I had only two notes of $2 each, and 
one note of $20 that were forged — a compliment alike 
to Mr. Dickens and to the honesty of the heteroge- 
neous material of which the mass of ticket purchasers 
was composed. The first were taken in Philadelphia, 
and the latter in Washington 



BOOK III. 

The '' Final Fareweir Toitr in the 
Uitited Kingdom 
(1868-1870). 

CHAPTER X. 

EIGHT THOUSAND POUNDS FOR A HUNDRED READINGS. 

EFORE leaving for America, Mr. Dickens 
had resolved on giving a series of farewell 
Readings on his return to England ; and 
Messrs. Chappell,anticipating the American 
success, had already entered into negotiations v^ith Mr. 
Dickens, prior to his departure. 

Liberal as the terms had been for the two previous 
English tours, the proposal forwarded by Messrs. 
Chappell to America, before even the Readings had 
begun there, exceeded in liberality the terms they had 
already paid. 

The proposal was that Mr. Dickens should give 
seventy-five farewell Readings in London and the 




334 CHARLES DICKENS. 

provinces, for which he was to receive the sum of 
six thousand pounds, and in addition "all expenses 
whatever." This proposal, however, did not meet 
with Mr. Dickens's approval; for having fully deter- 
mined never to read in England again after this series, 
he was under the impression that the country would 
stand a greater number of Readings than seventy-five, 
and that by giving one hundred of these instead of 
seventy-five, Messrs. Chappell's profits would be the 
greater by twenty-five per cent. 

This idea having been transmitted by mail from 
Halifax, a prompt reply reached Boston before the 
termination of the first series of Readings there ; to 
the effect that Messrs. Chappell agreed to pay the 
sum of eight thousand pounds (and all expenses) for 
one hundred Readings — a proposition assented to by 
Mr. Dickens by return of post. 

It will be seen that this proposal was not the result 
of any excitement from the success in America, as at 
the time it was made no one could have said what the 
result of the campaign might be. Neither was Mr. 
Dickens actuated by any selfish or mercenary motives 
in making an alteration in the original proposition. 
No one cared less for the actual possession of money 
than he did. 

Having made up his mind to abandon the Reading 
life for ever (certainly so far as England was 
concerned), that he might devote the rest of his time 



ONE HUNDRED MORE READINGS. 335 

to his literary pursuits, he was desirous of freedom 
from monetary cares, that he might the easier provide 
for the increased expenditure consequent on the re- 
quirements of his sons (three of whom he had still 
to provide for); and although the strain on his constitu- 
tion in the Reading Hfe had become severe, he bore this 
uncomplainingly that he might the better do his duty 
to his family. 

The Readings so far had been of the greatest assist- 
ance to him in this respect, and the temptation to add 
another ;f8,ooo to the eighteen or nineteen thousand 
he had made in America was very great; and in his 
mind all personal considerations and inconveniences 
had to be put on one side in the fulfilment of the 
object he had in view. 

The lovely weather we encountered on our return to 
England, and the rest and repose of the sea voyage, 
had caused all the bad symptoms in his health to 
disappear, and a week after his return no traces of 
his American sufferings were discernible — those best 
acquainted with him declaring that he looked better 
than ever. 

Great as the temptations were to devote the re- 
maining time, between the return to England and the 
commencement of the new engagement, entirely to 
rest and pleasure (as many would have done after so 
complete a success), Mr. Dickens, always eager for 
work of one kind or anothei, returned to the ordinary 



336 CHARLES DICKENS. 

routine of his London life, as if he had never left it. 
Even had he been disposed to retire on his laurels for 
a time, the state of affairs disclosed at the office 
would have prevented him from so doing. The acci- 
dent to Mr. Wills in the hunting field had resulted in 
concussion of the brain; and the doctors having ordered 
him away for complete rest, it was necessary that 
Mr. Dickens should take entire charge of "All the 
Year Round ; " this requiring a supervision, not only 
of the literary department, but of the financial depart- 
ment also; and as this latter was entirely foreign to his 
previous experiences, the amount of labour it involved 
in the mastery of its details was an extra source of 
worry and annoyance to him. 

A change of sub-editorship necessitated a change in 
the construction of the journal, and, having decided on 
this, he resolved to establish a new series, and dis- 
continue the Christmas numbers, which he fancied 
were becoming monotonous to the public — so many 
other journals having imitated them. Then he set to 
work with a will to make the journal as attractive as 
possible in other respects, by writing more for it 
himself, than he had been able to do whilst in America. 
A new series of the " Uncommercial Traveller" being 
the result. 

" No Thoroughfare " was still pursuing its successful 
career at the Adelphi Theatre, and, being translated 
into French, was produced in Paris (at the Vaudeville 



FIRST IDEA OF THE "MURDER" READING. 337 

Theatre) early in June, meeting with a success equal to 
that in London. For the purpose of superintending 
the rehearsals, and assisting at the first representation, 
Mr. Dickens went to Paris, returning highly delighted 
with the success of the play in the French capital. 

Some weeks before this, we were busy with the details 
of the Final Series of Readings, arranged to commence 
in London on Monday, October 5th, at St. James's 
Hall ; and already the necessity for a Reading novelty 
had taken possession of Mr. Dickens's mind, with a 
view to a success sufficiently large to secure a hand- 
some profit to Messrs. Chappell and Co., for their 
increased liberality. 

The great difficulty in this case was to find a subject 
which would not only be attractive, but which would 
create a sensation, and it was only after great con- 
sideration that the murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes, 
in *' Oliver Twist," was decided on for the purpose. 
The subject itself was so terrible that his friends 
besought him to abandon the idea ; this, however, he 
iwould not listen to, and, requesting those whose advice 
he valued to withhold any opinion on the matter until 
the Reading had been finally prepared, the subject was 
allowed to drop for the time being. 

In the midst of so much business, he had arranged to 
give a series of parties at Gad's Hill, and during the 
summer there was not a week when he did not enter- 
tain those friends whose society afforded him so much 



338 CHARLES DICKENS. 

pleasure. The early days of the week were devoted 
to business purposes ; Mr. Dickens, on these days, 
taking up his residence at the office in London, return- 
ing to " Gad's " with his guests, as a rule, on Friday, 
and remaining there until the following Monday, 
when all returned to London together in a saloon 
carriage. 

Having been the recipient of so much good feeling 
and hospitality in America from old and valued friends, 
it is not to be wondered at that he should have been 
desirous of marking his high appreciation of these 
favours, whenever opportunities presented themselves 
in the arrival of these friends in his own country ; 
and, as the intercourse between Longfellow and him- 
self had been almost daily in our visits to Boston, it 
was but natural that his advent to England should 
be made the subject of special rejoicings at Gad's Hill. 

The poet was accompanied by his daughter, his 
brother-in-law (Mr. Appleton), and Mr. and Mrs. 
Charles Eliot Norton; these, with Mr. Forster, Mr. 
Charles Kent, and myself, formed the " house party " 
at one of the earliest of the social gatherings in July. 

The visit of Longfellow was a very brief one, and 
could not have been but gratifying to him in the 
cordiality of his reception at " Gad's ; " and, although 
he had been there on previous occasions, the charm of 
the beautiful summer weather we were then enjoying 
added greatly to the pleasure of this visit. 



EACH MAN HIS OWN LUNCHEON-BEARER. 339 

Two post carriages, with postillions in the " old red 
jacket of the old red royal Dover Road," were turned 
out, and the antiquities of Rochester and its castle 
having been visited, we drove to Blue Bell Hill (a 
favourite spot with Mr. Dickens) ; and when the time 
came for our return to London, the holiday had passed 
all too quickly. 

These excursions, taking frequently the whole day, 
were as much a source of pleasure to the Chief as to 
his friends, and seemed always to possess a novel charm 
for him. 

Ever mindful of the comfort and convenience of his 
guests, and knowing how much the happiness of the 
day depends on these, Mr. Dickens had a plan of his 
own in the conduct of these arrangements ; and instead 
of entailing the labour, consequent on the carrying of 
the lunch-baskets to some picturesque and secluded 
spot, on certain individuals of the party, he arranged 
that every one should carry his own lunch, and nobody 
else's. For this purpose he had a quantity of small 
baskets, in which were packed all the necessaries for 
the midday meal ; and as nothing — not even the pepper, 
salt, mustard, and corkscrews — was ever forgotten, 
the petty worries and annoyances so common at 
picnics were avoided by his forethought. 

Besides his public and editorial duties, another 

matter pressed heavily on him at this time. During 

his absence in America, he had the misfortune to lose 

12 



340 CHARLES DICKENS. 

an old and valued friend, and a very eccentric one too. 
This gentleman had originally been a clergyman of the 
Church of England, but disapproving of many of the 
doctrines he had to preach, and being a man of large 
means, he left the Church, and in his retirement 
devoted his life to antiquarian research, and the writ- 
ing of some papers explaining his religious opinions. 
At his decease, he bequeathed a considerable sum of 
money, and his papers, to Mr. Dickens, v^ith the desire 
that he should edit them for publication. This was no 
inconsiderable task, and involved immense labour. 

Calling on him one day, I found him nearly 
distracted by the conglomeration of ideas he had 
to deal with, of which he could make neither head 
nor tail. 

Under the circumstances I suggested to him that it 
might not be easy to find a suitable title — a difficulty 
he had already anticipated. The only one that had 
occurred to his mind, viz., that of ** Religious Hic- 
coughs," being neither respectful to the subject, nor 
grateful to the memory of his friend, the matter was 
still in abeyance when I left him, and remained so for 
some months afterwards. 

The book appeared in the following year, under a title 
it is not necessary to mention, as, since its publication, 
it has been buried in obscurity. 

Between the intervals of pleasure and work, the 
summer of 1868 passed all too quickly ; and in my 



" PLORN.'* 341 

almost daily intercourse with him I was the recipient 
of many tokens of his love and affection for me, 
amongst others the fulfilment of a desire he had ex- 
pressed to stand as sponsor to my boy, the news of 
whose birth reached us at Washington. 

The christening took place at Marylebone Church, 
on Thursday, July 2nd, the occasion being marked 
on his part by the presentation of a service of plate 
suitable to the requirements of a baby, which consisted of 
a massive silver bowl, plate, fork, and spoon. 

Before returning to our reading life, he had to en- 
counter a grave sorrow in the parting from his youngest 
son, Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (nicknamed 
Plorn), who had elected to join his brother, Alfred 
Tennyson Dickens, already settled in Australia as a 
successful sheep farmer. 

** Plorn" was the favourite of his father, and his 
departure caused him great uneasiness and pain. He 
sailed on the 26th September, in the sailing ship 
Somerset (Captain Miller), and in Mr. Dickens's anxiety 
for the comfort of his son, I was enabled (through the 
instrumentality of a valued friend of my own, whose 
son had already made a voyage with Captain Miller) 
to bring the captain and Mr. Dickens together. 

My friend, Mr. Stephen Holland, of Porchester 
Terrace, arranged that the meeting should take place 
at a dinner party given by him at the Westminster 
Club, with the view to securing for " Plorn" the like 



342 CHARLES DICKENS. 

good offices on board that the captain had rendered to 
Mr. Holland's son George, during his voyage. 

Mr. Dickens, who had been very humorous during 
dinner, described later in the evening a visit he had 
that morning paid to the Post Office in St. Martin's- 
le-Grand. So pleased was he with all he had seen 
that he proposed to go again, asking Mr. Holland to 
accompany him. 

The conversation turning on the subject of the hand- 
ing over of the telegraph to the Government, Dickens 
expatiated on the importance of such a course, remarking 
that we should soon be able to send a telegram for 3d., 
and that he " could not imagine anything more cal- 
culated to advance education than this facility of con- 
veying ideas." 

" Should we not rather use the word information than 
education ? " suggested Mr. Holland ; " for we have no 
doubt all seen the servant girl racking her brain and 
consulting a dictionary over the composition of a three- 
page letter, the writing of which would surely be more 
in self-teaching than putting a few words on paper in 
the form of a telegram." 

The conversation changed, and, becoming general 
after this, Dickens was evidently in deep thought, and 
after a short time called out — 

" Holland, you are wrong ! Your servant-girl might 
get some one to write the letter for her, but she would 
have to write the telegram herself." 



" PLORN " GOES TO AUSTRALIA. 343 

Our host admitted the fact, but was evidently more 
amused than convinced thereby. 

If Dickens w^ere alive now he would be greatly 
shocked to find that his prophecy is still unrealized, 
even to the extent of a reduction in the cost of sending 
a telegram to 6d., let alone 3d. 

It was a hard struggle with the Chief to get over the 
separation from his son ; but it was one that had to be 
borne, and in referring to it at the time, he remarked 
to me that he was grateful in his sorrow that he had 
the means and influence to start his son so well in the 
world. 

We were now approaching the commencement of the 
Reading tour, and this of itself came as a relief to his 
mind. His health being apparently restored, he looked 
forward to the approaching campaign with pleasure, 
and the great interest he took in all the details made 
him forget his sorrow to a considerable extent. 

For these farewell Readings, the advertisement which 
he persuaded Messrs. Chappell to issue, and which he 
reproduced in his own journal, is so characteristic of 
him that a reference to it will not be out of place here, 
certainly so far as its integrity is concerned : 

** It is scarcely necessary to add that any announce- 
ment made in connection with these farewell Readings 
will be strictly adhered to and considered final ; and 
that on no consideration whatever will Mr. Dickens be 
induced to appoint an extra night in any place in 



344 CHARLES DICKENS. 

which he shall have been announced to read for the 
last time." 

The emphatic terms in which the foregoing para- 
graph is couched, added to the fact that the public 
regarded every announcement in connection with Mr. 
Dickens's name as authentic, had the desired effect ; so 
much so that, before the titles of the Readings had 
been announced, there was a run on the ticket depart- 
ment of Messrs. Chappell's establishment, to secure the 
best seats. 

When informed as to the progress of matters, Mr. 
Dickens became the more convinced of the necessity 
for the powerful novelty in the form of a Reading in 
order to keep up the receipts ; and as nothing more 
sensational in this respect presented itself to him than 
the ** Sikes and Nancy " murder, he would listen to no 
remonstrance in respect of it ; at the same time being 
impressed himself with the dangers by which the 
subject was beset. So much so, that when he had 
arranged the incident for Reading purposes, and had 
begun to "get it up," he had his own misgivings as to 
whether the impression would not be so horrible as to 
prevent persons from coming to the Readings a second 
time. 

He paid me the compliment to read the story to me, 
and I confess to having done all in my power to dis- 
suade him from continuing with it. My reasons for 
this had reference not so much to the inappropriate- 



IN DOUBT ABOUT THE "MURDER." 345 

ness of the subject for Reading purposes — because I 
knew well that the sensational character of it would be 
a great attraction — as to the effect which the extra 
exertion might have on his constitution and the state 
of his health, which had now begun again to show 
signs of failing and to assume the old American form ; 
for whether from close application to work during the 
summer months, or from excessive exercise in the 
pedestrian line at Gad's Hill, the pains had begun to 
return in his foot, this time in the right, instead of the 
left one. 

Not wishing to take the responsibility of deciding in 
this matter myself, I proposed that he should refer 
the book to Messrs. Chappell, they having the largest 
vested interest in the matter. This proposal being 
accepted, the book was sent to them, and in due course 
was returned with a suggestion that a select party of 
representative friends, whose opinion could be relied 
on, should be invited for a private reading of the work 
in St. James's Hall, on a date when we should be in 
London for one of our regular Readings. 

This arrangement seemed to please all parties, and 
so the matter was left; Saturday evening, November 
14th, being the date selected. Mr. Dickens had ample 
time to prepare it for presentation to our friends. 

The commencement of our last engagement with the 
Chappells was all that could be desired, with the old 
success staring us in the face, and up to a certain point 



346 CHARLES DICKENS. 

with no dark clouds before us, save and except a prob- 
ability of a return of the ill-health. This, however, 
was not to last long, for we had not been at work 
a fortnight when I received a communication from a 
personal friend of my own in Darlington, announcing to 
me the death of Frederick Dickens, the last surviving 
brother of my Chief. He had been staying with some 
friends in this place, and as no one had any idea that 
he had been ill, the suddenness of the news, apart from 
the melancholy nature of it, had a serious effect on Mr. 
Dickens. 

At his request I went to Darlington, there to find, to 
my satisfaction and his own, that in the last moments 
his brother had been carefully tended by the friends 
with whom he had been staying. 

This knowledge, however, did not tend to relieve his 
distress of mind at the loss of his only brother; and, 
coming as it did so shortly on the separation from 
" Plorn," of whom he was always speaking in the most 
affectionate terms, as his youngest and favourite child, 
it w^as with the greatest difficulty that he could get up 
the required spirit to go through the evening's work. 

But, as in America, the sight of the hall in which he 
had to read, and a quarter of an hour at the *' little 
table " before dressing, and the opening of the doors, 
banished all this depression, and he forgot himself and 
his own sufferings in the excitement of his duty. 




CHAPTER XL 

THE LAST TOUR IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. 

|FTER a very few Readings had been given, 
we found ourselves going on in the same 
way and leading the same life we had led 
so often before, and it was at times diffi- 
cult to imagine we had ever had any cessation of it. 
But for the fear of a recurrence of Mr. Dickens's illness, 
and the precautions it was necessary to take to prevent 
such a misfortune, the life would have been a most 
pleasant one. There was always this anxiety though, 
and it was with a great feeling of hopefulness and 
relief that, in order not to run the risk of bad business 
during the time of a general election — then about to 
take place — we decided on suspending operations during 
the month of November — certainly so far as the pro- 
vinces were concerned — and confining our efforts entirely 
to London. 

This gave Mr. Dickens plenty of time to prepare the 



348 CHARLES DICKENS. 

**Sikes and Nancy" murder Reading, which it had been 
decided should be subjected to a private trial in St. 
James's Hall, on Saturday evening, the 14th of 
November. 

Our provincial Readings for the time closed in 
Liverpool and Manchester at the end of October, and 
although the country was in a state of the most 
tremendous turmoil on account of the elections, our 
receipts did not fall off in the least. 

On one of our "off" nights in this week both Mr. 
Dickens and myself had accepted invitations to dine 
with friends in Liverpool ; but Mr. Dickens, being too 
unwell to carry out his part of the engagement, I had 
to go without him, leaving him at the Adelphi Hotel 
alone, to amuse himself the best way he could. 

Before my departure, he begged of me to call at a 
bookseller's and to send to him a book with which tc 
pass away the time until my return. I was em- 
barrassed to know the sort of book he would prefer, 
and was met with the reply, " Oh, you know ! anything 
you like." This not satisfying me, I pressed for more 
precise instructions on the point, getting only the same 
reply as before, with the suggestion that something of 
Sir Walter Scott's or his own would answer the pur- 
pose. As this did not assist me very much, I decided 
on getting for him one of his own books, and knowing 
" The Old Curiosity Shop " to be a favourite with him, 
I purchased that. Taking it to him myself, he was 



"THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP." 349 

delighted that I had done this, for he had not read the 
hook for years ! On hearing this I was naturally curious 
to see the effect of his own work on him when I should 
return to the hotel, and was greatly amused to find him 
laughing immoderately at certain incidents in the book, 
as if he had never seen it before. I was as much 
amused at this as he was with his book, and lest I 
might think he was vain of his own work, he explained 
to me — he was not laughing at his own creations, so 
much as at the recollection of the circumstances under 
which certain passages and incidents were written. 

The return to the Reading life, with a resumption of 
the long railway journeys by express train, brought 
back all the painful feelings of America; and that these 
might be got rid of as much as possible, it was decided 
to re-arrange the tour, as far as it was possible, so as 
to do our travelling on "off" days, and then only by 
slow trains. 

The *' Sikes and Nancy " Reading trial came off, as 
arranged, in the great St. James's Hall, and instead 
of the invitations being restricted to a limited circle of 
close and intimate friends, it was considered advisable 
to extend the circle by inviting persons whose judgment 
could be relied on, and, amongst these, leading members 
of the press. 

The arrangements made were those of a public 
Reading, and everything was done as if the trial had 
been one of these. The audience consisted of some 



3SO CHARLES DICKENS. 

hundred to a hundred and fifty persons, and was com- 
posed of all classes of people representing art. The 
utmost attention was paid to every word, look, and 
gesture during the recital of the horrible incident, 
spoken as it was with an intensity which gave a reality 
to the whole scene. 

It being generally known amongst those present that 
Mr. Dickens himself had his own doubts and fears as 
to the advisability of pourtraying so dreadful a subject 
on the platform, it was a matter of no surprise to him 
to find considerable hesitation on the part of his friends 
in expressing an opinion with regard to it. This hesi- 
tation was due to two or three reasons, the principal 
one being the great additional labour it required to give 
due effect to the subject. 

The Reading being concluded, Mr. Dickens descended 
into the body of the hall to discuss the merits or de- 
merits of the Reading, during which time the reading- 
table and screens had been whisked away, as if by 
magic, discovering to the gaze of those assembled a 
long table, on the level of the platform, arranged for 
an oyster supper. A large staff of men were in readi- 
ness to open oysters and champagne. His own words 
in a letter to a friend will best describe the scene : 

** Directly I had done, there was disclosed one of the 
prettiest banquets you can imagine ; and when all the 
people came up, and the gay dresses of the ladies were 
lighted up by those powerful lights of mine, the scene 



OPINIONS ON THE "MURDER." 351 

was exquisitely pretty, the hall being newly decorated, 
and very elegantly, and the whole looking like a great 
bed of flowers and diamonds." 

So completely awe-stricken were the miniature 
audience by the Reading, that it required some such 
accessory as this to set them talking. 

One visitor, a celebrated critic, expressed an opinion 
as to the danger of giving the Reading before a mixed 
audience, as he had an irresistible desire to scream. A 
celebrated physician, concurring in this, declared that 
if ** only one woman cries out when you murder the 
girl, there will be a contagion of hysteria all over the 
place." 

Some of the ladies described it as ** awful ; " whilst 
one, a celebrated actress, and a good judge of what is 
likely to be successful, on being asked whether it should 
be done in public or not, said : ** Why, of course do it ! 
The public have been looking out for a sensation these 
last fifty years, and now they have got it." 

These and similar opinions caused Mr. Dickens still 
to waver in his determination ; but having been at the 
pains of getting it up, it was certainly worth a trial ; 
and as Messrs. Chappell were not indisposed towards 
this, it was arranged that the first public Reading 
should take place at the commencement of the New 
Year, and simultaneously with this that it should be 
tried in Dublin — these two Readings to settle the fate 
of it for ever. It is almost to be regretted that these 



352 CHARLES DICKENS. 

two Readings of the murder were received with accla- 
mation, for otherwise Mr. Dickens would have been 
saved an enormity of labour and extra fatigue which 
he was ill prepared to endure, and which, in my 
opinion, and in the opinion of those who knew him the 
best, did more to hasten his end and to aggravate his 
sufferings than he himself would admit. 

The general election being over, and Mr. Dickens 
being much benefited by his rest, he started off again 
for heavy work, the intention being to run off the 
remaining Readings of our engagement without any 
rest or cessation, with the exception of a fortnight at 
Christmas. The first of these Readings took place in 
Brighton, in which town Messrs. Chappell accepted 
a certainty by way of engagement, from the firm of 
Messrs. Lyon and Hall, who paid the sum of 3^650, 
and all expenses, for four Readings — this being the 
largest amount ever paid to any individual reader ; 
and it is satisfactory to be able to record the fact that 
the spirit which actuated so liberal a venture was hand- 
somely responded to by the public. 

The "Times," ** Daily Telegraph," and *' Morning 
Post," taking advantage of the ordinary Reading at St. 
James's Hall, on Tuesday, November 17th (the one 
following the private Reading), had written elaborate 
articles on the subject of the "Sikes and Nancy" Read- 
ing, and through these the curiosity of the provincial 
public was already awakened ; and I found on my 




"S- 




"A 






THIRTY THOUSAND NERVE SHOCKS. 353 

arrival in Edinburgh, whither we had travelled on 
Saturday, December 5th, a desire on the part of the 
public that this Reading should be included in the 
series which we were about to commence there and in 
Glasgow. Finding that such a desire could not be 
gratified, the personal feeling of the Edinburgh public 
towards Mr. Dickens (or, as he expresses it, ** the 
affectionate regard of the people ") was of such a kind 
that but few days sufficed to fill the stall place for all 
the Readings announced ; and, contrary to our pre- 
vious Edinburgh experiences, the first of these Read- 
ings was as largely attended as the holding capacity of 
the Music Hall would allow. 

Sunday, never a joyous or pleasant time in Scotland, 
was pleasantly passed in a walk up Arthur's Seat. This 
did much to calm Mr. Dickens's nerves after the 
shaking of the journey by the " Flying Scotchman " 
the previous day, from which he suffered greatly on our 
arrival in Edinburgh. The Staplehurst accident was 
always in his mind, and, since his return from America, 
seemed to recur to him with increased horror. On 
this particular journey, we amused ourselves by cal- 
culating the number of shocks the nerves received in 
journeying so long a distance by express train as 
from London to Edinburgh; and, according to Mr. 
Dickens's mode of calculation, he estimated this at 
thirty thousand 1 Should this calculation be correct, 
it is no matter of surprise that any one in Mr. 



354 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Dickens' state of health should suffer greatly by such 
a journey. 

Scottish audiences are as uproarious in the reception 
of their favourites as they are cold to those who have 
not made their mark amongst them. The greeting 
accorded to Mr. Dickens on this occasion wsls worth a 
journey to America and back to receive, putting the 
Chief in the best of spirits for his work, which he went 
through with enjoyment to himself no less than the 
pleasure he afforded to his audience ; amongst whom 
were such old friends as Peter Fraser, Ballantyne 
(the Scottish bard), John Blackwood, and Mr. Russel 
(editor of the ** Scotsman "). These last were invited 
to a dinner party given by Mr. Dickens in their honour 
on the following Saturday. 

Messrs. Peter Fraser, Ballantyne, and John Black- 
wood being the only survivors of the time when Mr. 
Dickens in his early career had received so much 
kindness and hospitality in Edinburgh at the hands of 
Lord Jeffrey, and other Scottish friends (and who had 
done so much to make the city so pleasant to him), it 
was but natural that the evening should be spent in 
recollections of the old associates. 

Peter Fraser sang, as he only could sing, the songs 
that Lord Jeffrey most delighted in ; and Ballantyne 
recited the older poems, bringing back to our host the 
recollections of five and twenty years previously. In 
this way a most enjoyable evening was spent, and it 



SCOTTISH CORDIALITY. 355 

was not until the early hours of the Sabbath that these 
gentlemen left us. 

This being the first visit to Edinburgh and Glasgow 
since Mr. Dickens's return from America, we were fully 
prepared to find that the receipts were far in excess of 
those of any previous visits to these places ; for public 
curiosity to see and hear the popular author would 
alone account for such a result ; but apart from this, it 
was the greatest gratification to Mr. Dickens to find 
with what attention and delight the old Readings 
were listened to and applauded. 

These were not the only matters which gratified him 
so much, for the old private and personal feeling 
towards him were commensurate with the increase in 
the treasury department, and not a day passed but 
some fresh proof of this sentiment presented itself, 
either in the form of invitations to banquets which he 
would not accept, or of presents of various kinds, re- 
minding us of our experiences twelve months previously 
in Boston, and other places in the United States. 
Under these circumstances, it was not without regret 
that we parted with our Scottish friends on Saturday, 
December i8th, to give one more Reading in St. James's 
Hall on the following Tuesday, previous to our short 
Christmas vacation. 

Up to the moment of the train leaving Edinburgh, 
there were fresh evidences of the good feeling towards 
the Chief, a large concourse of friends assembling 



356 CHARLES DICKENS. 

at the station to wish him a merry Christmas, and a 
speedy return to Scotland for the farewell Readings. 
In the hope of making this night-journey a pleasant 
one, Mr. Mason, the general manager of the North 
British Railway, had telegraphed to London for one of 
the royal saloon carriages of the Great Northern Rail- 
way, which was improvised for the occasion into a 
comfortable sleeping apartment, the bedding and fur- 
niture being supplied from Mr. Mason's own house. So 
this wintry night's journey was comfortably performed ; 
and as the weather was almost unbearably bad, we had 
good cause for gratitude to Mr. Masonfor his kind 
thought and attention, which Mr. Dickens was never 
tired of recalling. 

Christmas week is not considered favourable to large 
receipts at places of public amusement in London, and 
it was thought a bold venture to announce a Reading 
in St. James's Hall, to take place only three days 
before the great festival ; but the popularity the Read- 
ings had acquired was of such a character as would 
have emboldened less astute caterers than Messrs. 
Chappell in announcing a Reading of the " Christmas 
Carol " at that time. The result justified the experi- 
ment to such an extent as to lead every one connected 
with us to the belief that ** we couldn't do wrong in 
announcing a Reading at any time." 

The appropriateness to the season of the subject 
selected for reading, suggested that the table should 



A CHRISTMAS TURKEY. 357 

be decorated with holly, a proceeding which met with 
Mr. Dickens's warm approval and appreciation, and, 
slight as was this small token of respect to the 
occasion, it had the effect of affording the audience 
a pleasure which greatly assisted Mr. Dickens in his 
labours. After three months of incessant travel he 
required some such stimulus, trifling as it was, to 
brace him up to the task of entertaining so large 
an audience by his own unaided efforts. Then 
it was refreshing to think that Christmas would be 
with us in three days, and then he would be able to 
take a holiday of ten days in the enjoyment of the 
festive season and the society of his family and friends 
at Gad's Hill, where there was always a goodly gather- 
ing. 

My own domestic arrangements at Ross precluded 
me from accepting an invitation to join the family 
party ; and as I was desirous of being represented at 
the dinner table on Christmas Day, I bargained to 
supply the turkey for that particular occasion. Being 
sensible of the responsibility I had incurred in this 
respect (as I felt it a privilege to be allowed to 
provide the author of the *' Christmas Carol " with 
such an important accessory to his dinner-table), I 
caused immense pains to be taken for the production of 
the finest turkey the neighbourhood of Ross, or even 
the whole county of Hereford, could afford. 

A magnificent bird, weighing some thirty pounds, 



358 CHARLES DICKENS. 

was procured, packed in a large hamper, with a 
quantity of other good things, and despatched in 
ample time to reach Gad's Hill on Christmas Eve, 
leaving Ross, indeed, on the day of the Christmas 
Reading in London, a circumstance which was 
solemnly communicated to Mr. Dickens and the ladies 
of his family. 

The day following the Reading Mr. Dickens went 

to Gad's Hill, and I joined my family at Ross, easy in 

my mind as to the safe delivery of the turkey ; but the 

next afternoon I was startled by the receipt of a letter 

from Mr. Dickens, written like this : 

WHERE 

IS 

THAT 

TURKEY? 

IT 

HAS 

NOT 

ARRIVED 

!!!!!!!!!!! 

At the same time I received several telegrams from 
other friends, saying that promised hampers (of which 
there were about a dozen) had not come to hand. 

Knowing that the courteous station-master at Ross 
had taken great pains in the transmission of my parcels, 
especially the one for Dickens (of whom he was an 
ardent admirer), I drove at once to the station to 
ascertain, if possible, the fate of my property. 



PREMATURELY COOKED. 359 

On my way there I met the station-master, breath- 
less, hurrying with an official telegram in his hand, 
desiring him to inform me that all my parcels had been 
transferred to a horse-box, with a lot of others, at 
Gloucester; and that by accident this vehicle had 
caught fire en route, and had been detained at Reading 
until it had cooled down sufficiently for the amount of 
damage to be ascertained. 

Of course the disappointment this entailed was not 
to be repaired by a money payment ; for the value of 
the whole of my consignment was as nothing compared 
with my distress of mind at the thought of Mr. Dickens 
going without his turkey on Christmas Day ; and as we 
were then late in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, the 
only hope of his having one was to telegraph to him the 
state of the case, and get the Great Western authori- 
ties to do the same. After the first annoyance of this 
mishap Mr. Dickens used to refer to the matter fre- 
quently, and speak of it with gratitude, as our misfortune 
proved a blessing to the poorer inhabitants of Reading, 
who were enabled to purchase the charred remains of 
turkeys and joints of beef at sixpence a-piece, the price 
at which the railway company sold the contents of the 
horse-box. 

With the commencement of the New Year (1869) we 
seemed to begin, as it were, a new career, for we had 
got through but little more than one-fourth of the 
number of Readings Mr. Dickens had arranged with 



36o CHARLES DICKENS. 

Messrs. Chappell to give on the final Farewell Reading 
Tour. There were still seventy- eight more Readings 
to be given, and these would keep us fully occupied 
until the end of May, under the most favourable cir- 
cumstances. The pressure of time under which these 
would have to be given, and the chances of inter- 
ruptions which might arise from ill-health, or any 
other unforeseen cause, were sources of the greatest 
anxiety to us, and it was only by the strictest observ- 
ance of a system, and by taking the utmost precautions 
against accidents of any kind, that we could see our 
way to accomplishing the task we had before us. 

Taking the chances of a travelling life, such as we 
were in the habit of leading, and with our experiences 
in this respect, we felt — or thought we did — pretty 
secure ; but there was one point on which we did not 
feel safe, and that was the uncertain state of health 
in which Mr. Dickens then was, and had been since his 
return from America. The pain in the foot was always 
recurring at inconvenient and unexpected moments, 
and occasionally his old enemy, the American catarrh, 
would assert itself; and, although he always spoke 
of himself as well in other respects, it was evident 
that these two ailments were telling greatly against 
him. 

This being the case, I was more than ever opposed 
to his continuing with the ** Sikes and Nancy" Read- 
ing, which, in my knowledge of him, and of it, I always 



"SIKES AND NANCY." 361 

regarded as one of the greatest dangers we had to 
contend against. 

As I knew that any further opposition to his ideas 
about this on my part would only make him the more 
determined to overcome the difficulty, I ceased talking 
on the subject, preferring to wait until the Reading had 
been given in public, when, if it should be coldly 
received, his own perception of the popular judgment 
would induce him to abandon it. Nothing but that 
could affect his resolve, for his idea in preparing it for 
reading purposes was solely to increase our coffers and 
to make the remainder of the tour as great a financial 
success as possible. 

When produced in St. James's Hall on Tuesday 
evening, January 5th (1869), the effect of the " Sikes 
and Nancy " Reading was all that Mr. Dickens had 
anticipated from a financial point of view, and from an 
artistic point of view he had no reason to be disap- 
pointed ; but in the vigour and the earnestness with 
which it was delivered, it was painfully apparent to his 
most intimate friends, and those who knew his state of 
health the best, that a too -frequent repetition of it 
would seriously and permanently affect his constitution. 
The terrible force with which the actual perpetration 
of this most foul murder was described was of such a 
kind as to render Mr. Dickens utterly prostrate for 
some moments after its delivery, and it was not until 
he had vanished from the platform that the public had 



362 CHARLES DICKENS. 

sufficiently recovered their sense of composure to appre- 
ciate the circumstance that all the horrors to which 
they had been listening were but a story and not a 
reality. 

The reception accorded to this Reading by the press 
was such as to create a demand for it in future Readings 
in London and the provinces, a fact which caused him 
to continue working away at it to make it as perfect 
for representation as were all the other Readings. 
The horrible perfection to which he brought it, and 
its novelty, acted as a charm to him and made him the 
more determined to go on with it come what might, and 
all remonstrance to the contrary was unheeded by him, 
notwithstanding in his own mind he knew with what 
danger to his constitution he was beset, and that by 
continuing with this additional labour he was running 
risks against which he was cautioned by his medical 
advisers and his friends. 

On the morning following the first reading of " Sikes 
and Nancy" I called at the office, and was not sur- 
prised to find my Chief in a state of great prostra 
tion after the efforts of the previous night ; but as my 
object in calling on him was more with a view to a 
friendly chat, and to make arrangements for a journey 
to Ireland, which we were about to take that same 
evening, I did not specially allude to the Reading of 
the previous evening, except to congratulate him on 
the success of it, so far as its effect on the public was 



TO IRELAND. 363 

concerned, and the reception it had met with from the 
press. 

There was no immediate necessity for me to do 
more than this, for we should have plenty of time on 
our Irish journey to discuss the future of the ''Murder" 
as a stock Reading. Moreover the Readings were 
already announced in the various towns on our list, for 
some weeks in advance, and could not be altered. 

My reticence on this subject made him the more 
determined to discuss the matter in its fullest extent 
there and then, and having done this in its entirety we 
decided on leaving the point to Messrs. Chappell to 
decide — the only condition of this arrangement being 
that, as we were going to Cheltenham on the 23rd of 
the month, and as Macready lived there and was too 
feeble to undertake a journey to London to be present 
at one of the Readings, the '' Murder " should be given 
there for his especial behoof. 

I looked forward with great pleasure to the Irish 
journey, as I felt that the change of scene would 
do Mr. Dickens much good, and that in the social 
intercourse with his Irish friends, in private life, much 
of the fatigue from which he was suffering would pass 
away. 

We had but two places to visit, viz., Dublin and 
Belfast, therefore the fatigue of travelling would not be 
very great ; and as I had arranged to take these jour- 
neys by easy stages, and we had a fortnight before us, 



364 CHARLES DICKENS. 

we left Euston Square with comparatively light hearts 
for Chester, where I had arranged we should break the 
journey. 

The reports from Dublin, sent by our agents, were 
of the most exhilarating character, but they came far 
short of the real state of the case. There were three 
Readings in Dublin and two in Belfast. For the former 
city all the reserved seats were sold in advance, and 
without encroaching unfairly on the liberties of the 
public in the second and third places, I and my agent 
in Dublin were at our wits' ends to know how to meet 
the pressing demands on our space. 

At the first of the Dublin Readings this difficulty we 
contrived to overcome, but for the second and third 
Readings the pressure was so great that it required a 
strong body of police — mounted and on foot — kindly 
placed at my disposal by Colonel Lake, to control the 
traffic in the neighbourhood of the Rotunda. All money 
payments at the doors (except in the shilling places) 
were refused, and only those with tickets allowed to 
enter the building, the doors of which were strongly 
guarded by police in plain clothes. By this plan 
everything passed off quietly, and no one but the 
officials and the disappointed ones were inconvenienced 
by the undue pressure. 

At the third Reading, for which the demand was even 
greater than for the previous two, I decided, on con- 
sultation with Mr. Dickens, to place chairs in the 



ALARM OF FIRE. 365 

reserved seats, wherever it was possible to do so with- 
out danger to the public, and nearly two hundred of 
these were disposed of at the agent's shop within the 
short space of two hours. 

It was impossible for Mr. Dickens to begin at the 
advertised time, so taxed were the resources of our 
staff, although increased for the occasion, and he was 
compelled to stand at the reading-table for nearly a 
quarter of an hour. His presence there had the effect 
of putting his public in good humour, and when at last 
silence was restored, and he was about to commence, a 
well-known author made his appearance in the silent 
room, and, proceeding to look for his seat, was greeted 
with the salute from a stentorian voice, ** Sit down, 
Mr. " 

The Dublin public, always appreciative of a joke, and 
knowing the gentleman to be an intimate friend of 
Mr. Dickens's, burst into hearty laughter, which, ex- 
tending itself to the platform, caused another delay in 
the commencement of the proceedings. 

Everything went well until close upon the termina- 
tion of the second Reading, when an alarm of fire 
was caused by a downpour of smoke into the Hall. 
The hall-keeper, being fortunately at my side, ac- 
counted for this by the lighting of a fire in one of the 
upper rooms in the building in a grate which had been 
disused for some time — the down draught causing the 
smoke. 



366 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Before any harm could come of this I was on the 
platform telling Mr. Dickens the cause of the smoke, 
and he in a humorous speech imparted the information 
to the public, who, resuming their seats, settled down 
for the rest of the Reading as if no casualty had 
arisen. 

We had to leave for Belfast the following day, and so 
a supper-party of intimate friends was extemporized at 
the Shelborne Hotel. At this Dickens was in one of 
his merriest moods, all traces of ill-health having for 
the time left him. 

On occasions such as this he' would entertain his 
guests with stories of the most interesting kind, and as 
they generally took a theatrical turn, it is painful now 
to remember the energy with which he illustrated the 
scene he was depicting, whether of a serious or ludicrous 
kind. In either case he was thoroughly in earnest, and 
it was difficult to believe that he had gone through so 
much on the platform, and that his never-flagging spirit 
came to his rescue when he felt bound to amuse his 
friends in the social circle. 

The successes of Dublin repeated themselves in 
Belfast, where it was proposed that a great banquet 
should be given him by the Mayor and Corporation. 
Much as Mr. Dickens appreciated the compliment, this 
project had to be abandoned, and our visit was purely 
one of business. 

We left Belfast by the midday limited mail on 



A RAILWAY SCARE. 367 

Saturday, January i6th, in order to catch the mail boat 
from Kingstown the same evening. An accident 
occurred which but for a most watchful Providence 
might have resulted in most serious consequences. 
This train consists of but two carriages for pas- 
sengers, with the necessary travelling post-office car- 
riages ard guards* vans. As we did not wish any 
society but that of our own party, I had secured a 
coupe (made to contain only five persons) for our 
special use on this journey, but as these compartments 
are but little known in this country now, it may be 
as well to explain that they are composed almost 
entirely of plate glass. 

Whilst running along at a rapid speed, about forty 
miles from Belfast, we received a severe jolt which 
threw us all forward in the carriage. Looking out we 
observed an enormous piece of iron flying along a side 
line, tearing up the ground and carrying some telegraph 
posts along with it. The breaks were suddenly applied, 
a lumbering sound was heard on the roof of the car- 
riage, and the plate-glass windows were bespattered 
with stones, gravel, and mud. 

Possibly having the recollection of the dreadful 
Staplehurst accident in his mind, Mr. Dickens threw 
himself to the bottom of the carriage, and we all 
followed his example. 

The train was speedily brought to a stand-still, and 
on our dismounting and taking a view of the situation, 



368 CHARLES DICKENS. 

we found that the great tire of the driving-wheel had 
broken, and that the piece of iron we had seen travel- 
ling with such destructive force and carrying the tele- 
graph posts with it was a portion of the tire, and that 
the noise on the roof of the carriage was caused by 
another enormous piece of iron falling on it. Had 
this piece of iron struck the glass instead of the 
framework of the carriage, it would have been impos- 
sible for us to escape, and in all probability there would 
have been a repetition of the Staplehurst catastrophe. 

The promptitude with which the driver brought his 
train to a stand prevented the engine leaving the 
metals. It was a lonely spot in which to spend an 
hour awaiting the arrival of another engine to take us 
on to Dublin, but we were all grateful to think that no 
one personally was the worse for the circumstance, and 
that the only damage was done to the engine, into the 
machinery of which huge pieces of metal had been 
driven, mixed with ballast. 

Our spirits flagged for a time after we started again, 
and it was with great relief that we found ourselves 
safe on the Holyhead boat making our way once more 
for home ; though it was unfortunate that the remem- 
brance of so pleasant a visit to Ireland (the recollection 
of which was so inspiriting) should have been marred 
by such a mishap. 






CHAPTER XII. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 

WAS not able to perform the whole 
journey from Dublin to London with Mr. 
Dickens and his companions, having 
been suddenly called to Ross by the 
severe illness of a near relative ; and so I left the party 
in the dead of the night at Stafford. It was not 
without considerable uneasiness that I did so, for the 
recollection of the escape we had in the Belfast train 
had inspired Mr. Dickens with the old dread of railway 
travelling. 

Finding my relative much improved in health, I 
remained in Ross but a few hours, leaving on Sunday 
evening, in order to reach Gloucester by road to catch 
the night mail, that I might report myself early on the 
following morning at the ofBce. Having an im- 
portant fortnight before us, in which Readings were 
announced for St. James's Hall, Birmingham, Chelten- 
ham, Clifton, Torquay, and Bath, I was fearful that a 



X 



370 CHARLES DICKENS. 

shock to Mr. Dickens's system might bring back the 
ailment to his foot, and that these Readings would 
have to be postponed, in which event the loss to every 
one concerned would have been enormous. 

I found that, although somewhat refreshed after a 
day and a night's rest, it was only his strength of will 
and determination which prevented a catastrophe 
such as the one I feared ; and it was with mingled 
feelings that I was enabled to report to my principals, 
the Messrs. Chappell, that matters looked well for a 
prosperous fortnight. 

One item in our programme for the coming week 
was the prospect of Mr. Dickens meeting his old friend 
Macready in Cheltenham, when the special Reading of 
the " Murder" was to be given for the old tragedian's 
delectation on the following Saturday afternoon. 

The programme on this occasion consisted of three 
Readings, viz. : ** Boots at the Holly Tree Inn," the 
Murder in " Oliver Twist," and the *' Trial from 
Pickwick " — a selection which could not fail to interest 
the veteran actor, whose love of children would cause 
him to appreciate the mimic elopement of Master 
Harry Walmers, Junior, with *' the adorable Norah,'* 
whose tragic susceptibilities would not fail to be 
aroused by the horror of the murder scene, and whose 
sense of the comic — for Macready had a sense of the 
comic — would be appealed to by the humorous whim- 
sicalities of the " Trial." 



WHAT MACREADY SAID. 371 

The effect produced on Macready by the " Murder " 
Reading has already been described by other hands 
than mine; but as I was present when he entered 
the dressing-room after the performance, and conse- 
quently an eye-witness of what took place, I think I 
might be allowed to describe the episode. 

Mr. Dickens having sufficiently recovered his com- 
posure after the excitement of the Reading, sent me 
into the stalls to bring Macready to him. 

Macready (who was very infirm) was as much 
excited and affected by the Reading as if he had given 
it himself; and leaning on my arm as he entered the 
room, glared speechlessly at Dickens, who, seeing his 
condition, desired me to give him a glass of champagne, 
which, however, he declined. I forced the wine on 
him, and taking the glass from me with a scowl (as 
if I had done him a personal injury), he said he would 
drink it later on. 

Turning to Dickens, who had by this time placed 
him on a sofa, he said, in the manner peculiar to 
himself and with great hesitation, *' You remember my 
best days, my dear boy ? No ! that's not it. Well, to 
make a long story short, all I have to say is — Two 
Macbeths 1 " 

Although a compliment to the Chief, the peculiar 
way in which this remark was delivered— with a scowl 
at me — so tickled Dickens that he burst out laughing ; 
and reminding Macready that he had yet another 

13 



372 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Reading to give, he prevailed on the old man to take 
the wine, and I ushered him back to his seat in the 
front row of the stalls. 

On the way he seemed to remember that Dickens 
and myself were to be his guests that evening at 
dinner, and once away from the dressing-room, which 
he had entered with so much apparent trepidation, his 
manner suddenly changed, and he was all geniality. 

The party at dinner consisted of Macready, Mrs. 
Macready, their son, Dickens, and myself. Dickens 
was all life and vivacity, and when he found his old 
friend relapsing into feebleness and forgetfulness, was 
equal to the occasion, and refreshed his memory by some 
question about the olden days, which caused Macready's 
face to change from its usual stolidity to an expression 
of quite vivacious humour. 

He had an idea that, as he had retired to Chelten- 
ham, all his old associates had forgotten him, and that 
he was unheeded by the world. 

In one of these intervals of stolid silence, Dickens 
remarked — 

" By-the-by, Mac, who do you think I met in the 
Strand the other day ? " 

Of course, Macready had no idea. 

** Smith," said Dickens. 

" What Smith ? '* demanded Macready, with energy. 

*' Don't you remember Smith who was your harle- 
quin 



?'^ 



SMITH. . 373 

*' Good gracious ! " shouted Macready, " does he 
remember me ? Well, I am surprised ! " 

'' Yes," said Dickens ; " and, what's more, I told him 
I should see you to-day, and he desired to be respect- 
fully remembered to you." 

"I am much obliged to him," was Macready's 
reception of the message, ** and when you see him 
again, you tell him what I say." 

The fact of Smith remembering Macready, put the 
latter in such a good humour that he insisted on 
having another bottle of the ** old straw Madeira " (a 
quantity of which had been given him in America, at 
the time of the Macready-Forrest riots) brought into 
the room. This being done, he cheered up and 
proceeded to tell us anecdotes of his managerial days, 
more especially in connection with his pantomime pro- 
ductions. In the recital of these he seemed to have 
changed his nature, and, as Dickens remarked after- 
wards, it was difficult to imagine that Macready had 
ever been a tragedian at all, in fact that he was ever 
anything but a low-comedian. 

This little incident, told here, can scarcely produce 
much effect, but the vis comica employed by Macready, 
and the manner in which Dickens contrived to enliven 
his friend by his brief visit — and especially the way 
these stories were extracted from him — formed a pan- 
tomimic treat not easily to be forgotten. 

Mr, Dickens being under promise to me to spend 



374 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the following day (Sunday) at my house at Ross — only 
twenty-five miles distant from Cheltenham — we had to 
leave Macready early in the evening, in order to get there 
in reasonable time ; otherwise the manner in which 
we were entertained would have resulted in a much 
later sitting than was possible under the circumstances. 

It was a wet, gloomy evening when we left Chelten- 
ham, but the recollection of the time we had passed 
with Macready caused us much merriment on our 
short journey, and made it seem but a few moments. 
I felt it to be a great compliment to entertain my 
Chief under my own roof, and my household were 
naturally anxious that he should be received in a 
manner befitting the occasion. For this there was 
no necessity, as from the moment he entered the house 
it seemed to contain more than its wonted share of 
sunshine— if such a thing were possible. 

The following day he went about the place with me, 
taking as much interest in ever3^thing as if he had been 
at *' Gad's " — nothing escaping his attention and obser- 
vation. My son (to whom he had stood sponsor in the 
early part of the previous year), the pony he had caused 
to be presented to my little girl (whilst we were in 
America), and the dog ** Chops," who recognized his 
old master, gave him a reception which pleased him 
immensely. 

About the house were relics of our American cam- 
paign, in the shape of pictures and other objets d'art. 



THE MANAGER ENTERTAINS THE CHIEF. 375 

In my small library was the row of his own books, 
which he had presented to me after our first tour. The 
selection of books he scanned carefully, with a critical 
eye, and whilst I was engaged writing some letters at 
the library table, I was greatly amused to watch him 
in this operation, and more so to see him passing his 
fingers over the tops of his own works. When I asked 
why he did this, he explained in a jocular manner that 
he was merely anxious to ascertain by this means it 
any of them had been cut — an easy method of learning 
if any of them had been read ! 

He had heard much of the beauties of the scenery 
in and about Ross, and expressed a wish to be taken 
for a walk along the prettiest road in the neighbour- 
hood. I chose the one which is supposed by old travel- 
lers to be the ** prettiest in England," viz., from Ross 
to Monmouth, about eleven miles. 

Sending on a carriage to Monmouth to drive us back 
in time for dinner, we started on this afternoon walk, 
in the course of which an amusing incident occurred. 

Monmouth is approached by a descent of about two 
and half miles, through a very pretty wood. 

Walking down this hill at the rate of about four miles 
an hour, we met three young men. One of them was so 
overcome by the apparition of Charles Dickens, whom 
he at once recognized, that he fell back into the wood, 
pulling his companions with him, and shouted, " Make 
way ! Blow me if that ain't Charles Dickens ! " This 



S76 CHARLES DICKENS. 

was done with such a theatrical air, that it caused 
the Chief to laugh uproariously. Calling the youth 
back, he asked him for the honour of shaking him by 
the hand, and at the same time begged him to accept 
the assurance that the surmise which had "blown" him 
was quite correct. 

We continued our walk to Monmouth, highly amused 
at the incident, Dickens wondering what the young 
man would have done, if with his knowledge of cele- 
brities he had lived in the olden times, and under the 
same circumstances had encountered ** Dick Turpin." 

The next week's work was one of comparative ease 
and pleasure, the journeys being short and the towns 
(with the exception of Bath) great favourites with Mr. 
Dickens. 

The day after our departure from Ross was the day 
for the Clifton Reading, and as we had nothing to do 
until the following Wednesday (when the Torquay 
Reading was to be given), I took advantage of the day's 
cessation from labour to leave Clifton by an early train 
in the morning, in order to give Mr. Dickens as much 
time as possible in Torquay. 

As he had never been there since the town had 
assumed its present beautiful proportions, I anticipated 
great pleasure in the enjoyment I felt certain he would 
experience from his visit. These anticipations were 
fully borne out. 

Our apartments were secured at the Imperial Hotel, 



TORQUAY. 377 

eommanding a magnificent view of the Bay ; and al- 
though we were then only at the end of the month of 
January, vegetation was as far advanced as it is in 
the Midland and Northern parts of England early in 
May. 

After dinner, on the evening of our arrival, we went 
out to take stock of the building in which he was to 
read, and as a pantomime was being performed there, 
by a very fair company, he had an opportunity of judg- 
ing of the acoustics of the hall or theatre, though it 
was neither the one nor the other, but a most ungainly- 
looking place. With the prospect of the next night's 
Reading before him, this had a somewhat depressing 
effect on his mind; but as we were so accustomed to 
patching up halls acoustically bad (as this one was), he 
relied on our invariable success in this particular, and 
the feeling of depression soon passed away, and he 
gave himself up to the humours of the pantomine. 

The demand for tickets was enormous, and as the 
Readings selected (** Doctor Marigold " and the *' Trial 
from Pickwick ") caused him but little exertion, and 
were in fact a delight to him, the visit to Torquay 
looked more like a pleasure trip than a matter of busi- 
ness. As for the public, they came in such numbers as 
to make the Torquay Reading memorable as one of the 
most brilliant of the final Farewell Reading Tour, 
The receipts amounted to nearly £270, an amount un- 
precedented in the history of entertainments in the town. 



378 CHARLES DICKENS. 

As Clifton, the following night, was equally brilliant, 
and the public there (as usual) equally responsive, we 
had but one dread before us, and that was lest Bath 
should prove a damper on our spirits, to destroy the 
happiness and brilliancy of our Western trip. To a 
certain extent it did, for we arrived there in a pouring 
rain, and when it rains in Bath you have about the 
gloomiest city in the world. 

Returning from a visit to the ticket agents, I found 
Dickens standing at the hotel window viewing the 
miserable streets. Assuming a comical attitude, and 
approaching me in a melodramatic manner, he said in 
a hoarse whisper — 

** Dolby, I have a new idea about this mouldy old 
roosting-place. 

*' Depend upon it," he continued, "this place was 
built by a cemetery-full of old people, who, making a 
successful rise against death, have carried the place by 
assault, and, bringing their gravestones with them, have 
contrived to build the city, in which they are trying to 
look alive. But " (shaking his head) " it's a miserable 
failure." 

My report from the ticket agents was not up to our 
usual standard of excellence, although it was considered 
" good for Bath." The agent explained the cause of 
what Dickens called the " mouldiness of the let." It 
seemed that one section of society wanted one particular 
Reading, anothsr section another, and so on. All of 



HIS SON'S PROMOTION. 379 

these objections, however, being " boiled down " (to use 
an Americanism), amounted to but one practical reason, 
which was that Bath could not afford to pay the prices 
of admission charged, notwithstanding that they were 
the same as those charged in other places in that part 
of the country. 

The result of the two Bath Readings was, how- 
ever, more satisfactory than the indications foreboded ; 
and after all, we felt we had passed one of the happiest 
fortnights of this Reading life. 

This feeling was enhanced in the Chief's heart by 
the receipt of news of his son Sidney (an officer in Her 
Majesty's navy, on the South American Station). This 
was brought to him by Sidney's old captain, who, being 
in Bath, came to see Mr. Dickens at the morning 
Reading, and conveyed to him the pleasing intelligence 
that his son had been appointed first lieutenant on 
board a new ship on his station. 

There had been no time for this news to reach him 
through the official channels, and, coming as it did, it 
was the more welcome, and was the means of sending 
Dickens home in good spirits and improved in health 
to prepare for the following week's work. This, how- 
ever, was not a very arduous one, as there were only 
three Readings to be given in it, one at St. James's 
Hall, one at Nottingham, and one at Leicester. 

The *' Murder " Reading had now firmly established 
itself amongst the other Readings, and when given was 



38o CHARLES DICKENS. 

always provocative of the same dangerous symptoms in 
Mr. Dickens* system. It was a hobby of his, and the 
public were attracted by it, coming in crowds to be 
horrified ; which in itself was a compliment to the 
reader, making him the more resolved to go on with it, 
all other considerations being put aside. In my opinion, 
and the opinion of others, it was a dangerous course to 
pursue ; and as our Readings were never announced 
more than a fortnight in advance, it would have been 
very easy to strike this Reading out altogether (or at all 
events to keep it for certain large towns) ; and the public 
in their desire to hear Mr. Dickens read for the last timcy 
would have come forward in the same numbers for an 
old favourite as readily as they would for this "atrocious 
novelty." 

That the frequency with which he persisted in giving 
this Reading was affecting him seriously, nobody could 
judge better than myself, living and travelling with him 
as I was, day after day and week after week. His 
own good-nature, affectionate disposition, and sense of 
justice, prevented a display of irritability when he was 
remonstrated with on this subject, and rather than 
cause him pain I refrained as much as possible from 
approaching it (except so far as the exigencies of the 
business demanded) ; and as I could not shake his de- 
termination, I watched with great trepidation the course 
of events. 

I had not to wait long, for only a fortnight after our 



OUR FIRST BREAK-DOWN. 381 

return from the West, our first Reading break-down 
occurred. 

A Reading was announced to take place in St. James's 
Hall on Tuesday, February i6th, and the day afterwards 
we had to leave for Scotland, for our farewell Readings 
there. Calling on Mr. Dickens, as was my habit, on 
the morning of the London Reading, I found him in 
bed in great agony, owing to a return of the ailment in 
his foot. In close attendance on him were his friend 
and medical adviser, Mr. Frank Carr Beard, and the 
eminent surgeon, Sir Henry Thompson. This was the 
worst attack he had yet experienced, not excepting the 
American experiences of the same kind, and was not 
alleviated by the distress of mind from which the patient 
was suffering in the thought that he might not be able 
to appear that evening. This matter the doctors very 
soon settled by their prohibition of any such proceeding, 
or even an attempt at it. Mr. Dickens remonstrated 
that his non-appearance would cause unheard-of incon- 
venience to hundreds of persons, and great loss to 
Messrs. Chappell, as, at that time of the day, it would 
not be possible to apprise those who had purchased 
tickets that the Reading could not take place. But so 
serious was his condition that the doctors declared that 
even with a strong will such as Mr. Dickens possessed, 
it would be physically impossible for him to undergo 
the fatigue and pain of standing at the table for a couple 
of hours, to say nothing of the mental exertion necessary 



382 CHARLES DICKENS. 

for giving proper effect to the Reading. A certificate 
in accordance with the circumstances of the case was 
duly signed by Sir Henry Thompson and Mr. Frank 
Carr Beard, and it was not until after two o'clock in 
the afternoon that we were really in a position to give 
notice that the Reading could not take place on that 
evening. 

The respect for Mr. Dickens was so widespread, 
that nothing but the greatest good humour prevailed, 
and expressions of sympathy for him in his illness were 
general, the public accepting the situation with the 
utmost kindness and consideration. 

After assisting at the returning of the money, and 
dismissal of the public at St. James's Hall, I had to 
start immediately for Glasgow, for the purpose of post- 
poning the whole of the Readings in Scotland, in- 
definitely — or such of them as were announced in 
Glasgow and Edinburgh for that week. 

Leaving London by the night mail, I had the hope 
that Mr. Dickens's extraordinary recuperative powers 
would come to his aid, and that he would be able to 
give, at least, the Readings announced for the week 
following, in which case the disappointment of the 
public would be concentrated in but three Readings at 
most. 

My appearance at the office of our ticket agents in 
Glasgow on that particular morning was most unex- 
pected, it being supposed that I was with Mr. Dickens 



THE CHIEF MENDS. 3^3 

in London, and that I should not turn up until the fol- 
lowing day. The object of my visit was very speedily 
explained, but not so easily effected, for the state of affairs 
in the ticket-office disclosed an unprecedented demand 
for tickets, even for Glasgow, where our business had 
always been enormous. Fortunately we had two clear 
days before us in Glasgow, and three clear days in 
Edinburgh, in which to advertise the postponement, 
and inform the public their monies would be returned. 

By this arrangement all chances of pressure were 
lessened; and as, on reaching Edinburgh, I found a 
telegram awaiting me, containing the comforting news 
that the swelling and pain in the foot were abating, 
and that Mr. Dickens's general health being good, he 
would be able to leave London in three or four days 
at the most, I was enabled to announce in the morning 
papers that his illness was only a temporary one, and 
that he would appear and give the Readings the fol- 
lowing week. 

As these advertisements reduced the pressure at the 
doors, they in the same proportion increased it at the 
ticket-offices ; but the effect on the whole was good, and 
the public getting over their first disappointment, were 
satisfied by the arrangement. Telegrams of an assuring 
character continued to be received from London during 
the week, the final one announcing that Mr. Dickens, 
accompanied by Mr. Arthur Chappell, would leave 
King's Cross on the following morning for Edinburgh. 



3^4 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Meeting them at the railway station, I found Mr. 
Dickens very lame, but in excellent spirits. It was 
evident, though, that his recent attack had affected 
him seriously, and there were traces of the acute 
suffering he had undergone ; although by his vivacity 
of manner he tried to disguise the fact that he was 
any the worse for it, and assumed that, beyond the 
temporary inconvenience, there was not much the 
matter. 

Whilst regretting the trouble his illness had occa- 
sioned me, and the disappointment to the public, he 
was highly gratified at the way matters had been con- 
ducted, and greatly flattered at the prospect of the 
brilliant week before him. 

Mr. Arthur Chappell spent the following day with 
us, which was partially given up to a long drive in the 
environs of Edinburgh (of which Mr. Dickens was very 
fond), Roslyn Chapel being visited on the way, in order 
to give our horses a rest. 

Mr. Chappell had no sooner left us than the foot 
again became troublesome, showing symptoms of so 
dangerous a character that it became necessary to send 
for Mr. Syme, the celebrated surgeon of Edinburgh, 
who rejected the idea of Sir Henry Thompson, that 
gout was the cause of the trouble. 

Mr. Syme attributed it entirely to cold, due to getting 
wet feet in long walks in the snow in America, and 
again in England. Moreover, he thought the fatigue of 



EDINBURGH THRILLED. 385 

the Readings had as much to do with it as anything 
else — an opinion in which I fully concurred. 

The difficulty, Mr. Syme thought, might be over- 
come by perfect rest, and this he recommended strongly; 
but how that was to be obtained, in face of the work cut 
out for Mr. Dickens, he did not say, and as none of us 
were in a position to prescribe for this evil, all that 
could be done was to take as much care as possible, in 
the hope of bringing about a cure. 

The excitement of the public in these last Scotch 
Readings knew no bounds, and if the prices of admis- 
sion had been doubled there would have been no 
difficulty in obtaining them. As the fame of the 
** Murder" Reading had reached Edinburgh, the desire 
to hear it was so great that not a place was to be 
obtained in either the first or second seats, and a few 
minutes after the opening of the gallery doors that 
portion of the house was full to overflowing. 

The great interest taken in this, and the dead silence 
which prevailed during the delivery of it, had the effect 
of making Mr. Dickens more vehement, if possible, 
than on any previous occasion. He worked himself up 
to a pitch of excitement which rendered him so utterly 
prostrate, that when he went to his retiring-room (which 
he reached with difficulty), he was forced to lie on the 
sofa for some moments, before he could regain strength 
sufficient to utter a word. 

It took him but a short time, though, to recover, an^ 



386 GHARLES DICKENS. 

after a glass of champagne he would go on the platform 
again for the final Reading, as blithe and gay as if he 
were just commencing his evening's work. 

These shocks to the nerves were not as easily repelled | 
as for the moment they appeared to be, but invariably 
recurred later on in the evening, either in the form of 
great hilarity or a desire to be once more on the plat- 
form, or in a craving to do the work over again. After 
the Edinburgh Reading, Dickens's friends in Edinburgh 
who had the entree to his dressing-room, having regard 
to the state of his health, and perhaps being a little 
overcome and alarmed at what he used jokingly to 
call his " murderous instincts," contented themselves 
with calling in to thank him for the pleasure he had 
afforded them ; and, wishing him an affectionate good- 
night, declined all invitations to supper, so that we 
were left to eat this meal by ourselves. During suppei 
he asked me for how many Readings in advance we 
were advertised. 

I replied, '' You are advertised up to and including 
York on the nth of next month." 

" That's all right," he said; " let us fix the Readings 
for the remainder of the tour." 

I went to my writing-case and produced my tour list, 
he at the same time producing his. 

We went on with our supper, making notes the while 
(on our respective lists) of the Readings he had chosen 
for the various towns ; and when we had got through 



THREE "MURDERS" A WEEK. 387 

about sixteen of these (a month's work), and seeing that 
the "Murder" was taking precedence of everything else, 
I ventured to remark — 

" Look carefully through the towns you have given 
me, and see if you note anything peculiar about them." 

*' No," he replied. *' What is it ? " 

*' Well," I said, " out of four Readings a week you 
have put down three * Murders.' " 

"What of that?" 

" Simply this," I said ; "the success of this farewell 
tour is assured in ever}- way, so far as human probability 
is concerned. It therefore does not make a bit of 
difference which of the works you read, for (from what 
I have seen) the money is safe any way. I am saying 
this in the interest of your health, and I feel certain 
that if either Tom or Arthur Chappell were here, he 
would endorse every word I have said, and would agree 
with me that the ' Carol,' * Copperfield,' ' Nicholas 
Nickleby,' or ' Marigold,' will produce all the money 
we can take, and you will be saved the pain of tearing 
yourself to pieces every night for three nights a week, 
and to suffer unheard-of tortures afterwards, as you 
have to do. Reserve the ' Murder ' for certain of the 
large towns, just to keep your hand in; and if you do 
this you will be all the better in health, and we shall 
be none the worse in pocket. Even if we are, I am sure 
the Chappells will not regret it, but would do anything 
and everything to save you unnecessary fatigue." 



388 CHARLES DICKENS. 

^* Have you finished ? " he said, angrily. 

'* I have said all I feel on that matter,'* was my reply. 

Bounding up from his chair, and throwing his knife 
and fork on his plate (which he smashed to atoms), he 
exclaimed — 

" Dolby ! your infernal caution will be your ruin one 
of these days ! " 

** Perhaps so, sir," I said. " In this case, though, I 
hope you will do me thej'ustice to say it is exercised in 
your interest." 

I left the table, and proceeded to put my tour list in 
my writing-case. Turning round, I saw he was crying 
(my eyes were not so clear as they might be), and, 
coming towards me, he embraced me affectionately, 
sobbing the while — 

" Forgive me, Dolby! I really didn't mean it; and 
I know you are right. We will talk the matter over 
calmly in the morning." 

In all my experiences with the Chief, this was the 
only time I ever heard him address angry words to any 
one, and these probably would not have been uttered 
had the conversation taken place under different cir- 
cumstances and apart from the influence of the excite- 
ment of the evening's work. But the storm had passed, 
and there was an end of it. 

The next day was an " off" day, and we passed the 
greater portion of it indoors. The weather was too 
v^ild to permit of his going out ; and even if it had been 



LONDON AGAIN. 389 

Otherwise he could not have taken walking exercise, 
for his foot was swathed in what he used to call '* a big 
work of art." He was always open to conviction, and 
did not disdain to defer to the judgment of another in 
whom he had faith, even though his own mind had been 
made up on any particular point ; and in the frankness 
of his disposition he admitted that perhaps there was a 
little too much '' Murder" in our future arrangements, 
and that it would be better in certain places to moderate 
his instincts in that respect. 

In this way we made such alterations in the distri- 
bution of the Readings as greatly to reduce the chances 
of another break-down. But the bad weather we en- 
countered throughout our Scottish tour had an evil 
effect again on Mr. Dickens's health, and I lived in fear 
and trembling that he would not be able to get through 
the week. This he contrived to accomplish, but not 
without great personal suffering, such as few men could 
have endured. 

Mr. Syme was consulted again before we left Edin- 
burgh for Glasgow; but he had no remedy to offer 
except complete rest, which, alas ! was impossible. 

Gratified as we were by the enormous receipts both 
in Glasgow and Edinburgh, we were not sorry when the 
time for our departure from the latter place arrived, 
and were glad to get into the train on Saturday even- 
ing, February 27th, on our way to London, where Mr. 
Dickens could go to his own comfortable quarters and 



390 CHARLES DICKENS. 

have the advantage of better nursing than it was possible 
to get in an hotel. 

This was a necessity now, for on the following Tues- 
day the "Murder" had to be repeated at St. James's 
Hall for the second time ; and on Saturday in the same 
week had to be given for the first time in the Free 
Trade Hall, Manchester, the size of which under ordi- 
nary circumstances made a Reading a great anxiety ; 
but in this instance the anxiety became far greater, as, 
for the full appreciation of the Reading, no less than 
the comfort of the reader, great attention on the part 
of the audience was necessary, whilst the strictest 
silence had to be observed. 

These elements were never wanting in Manchester ; 
but it was impossible to tell when an accident might 
occur, such as a person screaming in fright, dropping 
a stick or umbrella ; any interruption of this kind would 
be the means of taking the attention off the reader, and 
his work in so large a hall as this would be nearly 
double in the endeavour to get it back again. Fortu- 
nately no such interruption ever did occur, but during 
the forty minutes which this ** Murder" Reading occu- 
pied I had a nervous dread of some mishap. 

The second Reading in London was even more suc- 
cessful than the first, the reputation of the '' Murder" 
causing the great St. James's Hall to be filled in every 
part. On our way to Manchester we stopped in Wolver- 
hampton, where Mr. Dickens read *' Doctor Marigold" 



HULL. 391 

and *' Mr. Bob Sawyer's Party " — the pathos of the one 
and the fun of the other acting as a great relief after 
the horrors of the " Murder." 

Our next town was Hull, where Mr. Dickens was 
announced to read two nights, and then came a day's 
rest, with a Reading at York to follow ; after this our 
programme was to return to London, where he could 
take a rest until the following Tuesday, when another 
of our fortnightly Readings was announced for St. 
James's Hall. All this looked well as a means of 
getting what Mr. Syme prescribed, but Fate was 
against us. 

We had passed an enjoyable and quiet Sunday at 
the Queen's Hotel, Manchester, and as by a wonder- 
ful circumstance it did not rain, we drove to Alderley 
Edge, the fresh air reviving the Chief wonderfully. 
The journey to Hull being an easy one, we did not 
hurry ourselves to get there on the Monday morning, 
but sent the men on with the things, we following by a 
midday train. 

When I returned to the hotel after transacting the 
necessary business, I found Mr. Dickens in a paroxysm 
of grief, for in my absence the news had reached him 
of the death of his old and valued friend, Emerson Ten- 
nent. This had so thoroughly unnerved him that, for 
the time, it became a question whether the Hull and 
York Readings would not have to be given up. Man- 
fully he fought against his feelings, and resolved to get 



392 CHARLES DICKENS. 

through as best he could, and what this meant I knew 
full well by this time ; it meant self-sacrifice and acute 
suffering, in this instance not only bodily suffering, but 
acute mental agony. 

The letter containing the news of his friend's death 
also contained a request that he would attend the 
funeral on the following Friday, the 12th. It is pretty 
generally known with what horror he attended a 
funeral, and what a feeling of disgust he entertained 
for the dismal pomp of that ceremony. The relations 
that had existed between himself and Sir James Emer- 
son Tennent had been of such a character that he 
could not with grace refuse to be present on this sad 
occasion. The difficulty of getting to London from 
York after the Reading in the latter place seemed at 
first to be insuperable, inasmuch as the Reading would 
not be over before ten o'clock, and the train for London 
left York at 9.45 p.m. Half an hour would be neces- 
sary for a change of dress, and it would take another 
ten minutes to drive to the station, by which time the 
Great Northern express would be some forty odd miles 
on its way. 

He was determined to do his duty by Messrs. Chap- 
pell, for they had lost enough by the abandonment of 
the London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow Readings three 
weeks before, and it would be unfair to the York public 
to disappoint them. There was only one way of getting 
over the difficulty, and that was more self-sacrifice. 



A RAPID DEPARTURE. 393 

As a means of meeting the case, he arranged to take 
twenty minutes out of the time allotted to the Readings 
(there were three announced for this evening, *' Boots 
at the Holly Tree Inn," the Murder in ** Oliver 
Twist," and ** Mrs. Gamp "), and this time was to 
be gained by sacrificing the rest he needed after the 
** Murder." So by means of a printed notice, circulated 
in the room, the audience were informed that, owing to 
a circumstance of a painful character, within the general 
knowledge, Mr. Dickens had been suddenly called to 
London ; but not wishing to disappoint the people of 
York, he had determined on giving the Readings an- 
nounced, dispensing with the time he usually took to 
himself for rest between each Reading. 

I had arranged with the courteous manager of the 
Great Northern Railway at York to let me have a 
saloon carriage with comfortable sofas, and, if neces- 
sary, to keep the train for me three or four minutes. 

In the presence of the Archbishop of York and all 
the notabilities of the city, Mr. Dickens was in his 
place precisely at eight o'clock, and without curtailing 
one sentence, or neglecting a customary look or gesture, 
he went through this task as if he were under no pres- 
sure whatever, merely retiring after each Reading for his 
usual glass of champagne and a new book, and appear- 
ing again apparently as fresh as on ordinary occasions. 
And so we arrived together at the railway station, two 
minutes before the advertised starting time of the train. 



394 CHARLES DICKENS. 

I had sent his servant (Scott) to the station with our 
change of clothes, and our saloon carriage presented a 
mixed appearance of a miniature dressing and dining- 
room. Scott had made all preparations for his master's 
usual rub down after his Reading, and the landlord 
of the hotel had arranged an excellent supper for us. 
Punctually at g.45 p.m. the train steamed out of the 
station, and we proceeded to divest ourselves of our 
evening dress, and assumed that of the traveller of the 
period. The supper was disposed of with infinite 
relish, and after a cigar we settled down for the night, 
Mr. Dickens sleeping the whole way to London — not 
awaking until we were close to King's Cross, and then 
looking as fresh as if he had done an ordinary journey 
in the course of his daily life. 

''The more you want out of master, the more you'll 
find in him," was the remark of our gasman to me one 
day in America, and here was an instance of the truth 
of his remark. 

I dined with him on the day of the funeral, and was 
shocked to observe to what extent he was unnerved 
and pulled down by the fatigues of the previous night, 
and the feelings of sorrow incident to such an occasion. 

" Of course I made an ass of myself," he said, '* and 
did the wrong thing, as I invariably do at a funeral." 

He proceeded to explain that, arriving at the house 
of his late friend, he was met in the hall by an elderly 
gentleman, who extended his hand. Presuming this to 



THE UNDERTAKER'S MAN. 395 

be a friend of Sir James's, whom he had met somewhere 
but had forgotten, he shook the gentleman by the 
hand, saying at the same time — 

** We meet on a sad occasion." 

** Yes, indeed," was the reply. " Poor dear Sir 
James." 

(This with a long-drawn sigh.) 

Dickens passed on to the dining-room where several 
other friends were congregated, and where for a time 
he quite forgot his friend in the hall ; but presently he 
was reminded of that affecting meeting by the entrance 
of the elderly gentleman carrying before him a trayful 
of hats adorned with long mourning bands, and so high 
was the pile as to almost hide him from view. 

The elderly gentleman's position in society was now 
made manifest. He was the undertaker's man, and 
wanted Dickens's hat for the purpose of funereal 
decoration ; hence his object in holding out his hand. 
Mr. Dickens was greatly amused (the seriousness of 
the occasion notwithstanding) when he discovered the 
mistake he had made. 

Our farewell Readings in the large towns were fast 
closing in, and we had now only Birmingham, Liver- 
pool, and Manchester, to dispose of (in this class), a 
prospect which was very encouraging, as the discon- 
tinuance of long railway journeys gave hope of some 
rest and repose to Mr. Dickens, of which he stood in 
sore need. 



396 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Against this was the extra exertion necessary to give 
due effect to the Readings in the large halls in these 
towns, but as this had already been done under less 
favourable circumstances, we were justified in the 
supposition that with less travelling the ailment to 
the foot, which continued to make itself felt, would 
speedily disappear, and that Mr. Dickens would again 
be able to resume his walking exercise, the want of 
which he felt sorely. 

Our progress through the country, whether in large 
towns or small, was a continued round of successes, 
every hall being crammed to its fullest capacity. 

In Birmingham and Manchester the halls (besides 
being suitable for the Readings) were large enough for 
all reasonable wants (in Birmingham on one night Mr. 
Dickens read to nearly 2,500 persons) ; but in Liverpool 
there was no room that would meet our requirements, 
unless we fell back on our old friend, the small concert 
room in St. George's Hall, and raised our prices. As it 
was contrary to our principles to do this, I decided on 
taking the Theatre Royal for our four farewell Read- 
ings there. These were to be supplemented by a 
public banquet given to Mr. Dickens in the great St. 
George's Hall, on the evening after the closing Reading 
in Liverpool, viz., Saturday, April loth. 

The theatre, which had fallen into disuse for some 
time, was in a distressingly dirty state, but a fortnight's 
rubbing, scrubbing, and sweeping, with a liberal allow- 



THE LIVERPOOL BANQUET. 397 

ance of red baize and carpets in the passage-ways and 
in the stalls, converted it into a perfect reading-house ; 
and as Mr. Dickens preferred a theatre to any other 
class of building, and his audiences were both 
numerous and sympathetic, the Liverpool farewells 
were not less brilliantly successful than others I have 
had occasion to describe. 

At one time we were afraid that the excitement in 
connection with the public banquet would detract 
from the success of the Readings, by drawing the 
money in another direction, but as a matter of fact 
the total receipts of the four Readings exceeded ;£'i,ooo. 

The great St. George's Hall in Liverpool was the only 
one in the town capable of dining six hundred persons 
together, and for this reason it was selected. A more 
unsuitable place for such a purpose could not well 
have been chosen. The arrangement of the tables 
prevented a word of the speeches being heard, and as 
in addition to the guest of the evening such men 
as Lords Dufferin and Houghton, Anthony Trollope, 
Hepworth Dixon, Mark Lemon, Mons. Esquiros (of the 
Revue des Deux Mondes), George Sala, and others were 
set down to speak — this department of the entertain- 
ment was entitled to some consideration. 

Mr. Dickens took much trouble in the matter, and 
suggested a plan whereby the difficulty might be got 
over. But it was found now that the committee, for 
some inscrutable reasons of their own, could not 



398 CHARLES DICKENS. 

submit to any alteration of their plans, at least not 
to such as Mr. Dickens had proposed ; that, in short, 
things must remain as they were to the possible detri- 
ment of the whole affair. 

In such a vast hall, and in the presence of such 
beautiful decorations as had been devised, it would not 
have done to resort to the carpet and baize trick as we 
should have done in a small country town, '' for one 
night only." 

This idea being proposed to the honorary secretary 
(Mr. Clarke Aspinall), he sent at once to the guard- 
ship (the Donegal) lying in the river for the loan of 
such of the ship's flags as might be necessary to correct 
the acoustic defects of the hall. The captain, with a 
ready courtesy, not only granted this request, but sent 
a boat's crew of man-of-wars men to hang and drape 
the flags in the places assigned for them by Mr. Dickens, 
who personally superintended the whole matter. 

The leading men of Liverpool and the whole sur- 
rounding district were present, Manchester paying Mr. 
Dickens the compliment of sending its Mayor. 

With the exception perhaps that the proceedings were 
too long, the banquet was a great success. The Mayor 
of Liverpool was nominally the chairman of the even- 
ing, but being in ill-health, and not a great speaker, he 
handed the toast of the evening over to Lord Dufferin 
(at that time Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster). 
Speeches were made by Mr. Philip H. Rathbone, 



NOTABLE SPEAKERS. 399 

who proposed '* Her Majesty's Ministers," which was 
replied to by Lord Dufferin. Lord Houghton spoke 
for "The Houses of Parliament ;" Lord Dufferin, in an 
elegant and eloquent speech, proposed the toast of the 
evening, viz., the health of Charles Dickens ; to which 
Mr. Dickens replied, taking some exception to a 
remark of Lord Houghton's, as to his (Dickens's), 
objection to entering Parliament. Mr. J. A. Picton 
proposed " Modern Literature; " Mr. Anthony Trollope 
replying for " Light Literature," and Mr. Hepworth 
Dixon replying ** as regarded Literature of a more 
serious nature." Mr. George Augustus Sala was en- 
trusted with the toast of **The Distinguished Visitors;" 
M. Alphonso Esquiros replying thereto as a represen- 
tative of " French Literature." Mr. Andrew Halliday 
responded to the toast of *' The Drama ; " after which 
Lord Houghton proposed ** The Newspaper Press," 
to which Mr. George Sala and Mr. M. J. Whitty (the 
proprietor of the *' Liverpool Daily Post "), responded. 
Mr. Charles Dickens proposed " The Ladies," after which 
Mr. Dickens proposed " The Mayor and Corporation," 
to which the Mayor responded. The proceedings, 
which had been of a highly complimentary character 
to Mr. Dickens, terminated here ; everything having 
been done by the Mayor and Corporation of Liverpool 
to make the farewell visit of Dickens to the town a 
pleasant memory to him and to those who took part 
in it. 



403 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Here was the last of the large towns disposed of, and 
as Liverpool was a great favourite with Mr. Dickens, 
it was with a certain feeling of depression that we 
quitted it on the following day for London, where we 
were due for a Reading in St. James's Hall. 

We were rather a large party on this journey, and 
a very jolly one. Many of our London friends who 
had attended the banquet returned with us in our 
saloon carrige, and those whom business or pleasure 
detained in Liverpool came to the station to see us 
off. 

Mr. Dickens walked to the station, and the good 
feeling of the people of Liverpool showed itself heartily 
in the street ; for during his progress to the station, 
he was repeatedly stopped by persons of the working 
classes wanting to shake hands with him, and all of 
them eager to thank him for the pleasure his books 
had afforded them. This, however, was not a new 
experience to him in the large manufacturing towns. 

Another gratifying and complimentary evidence of 
the power of his Readings, and the pleasure they afforded 
persons of intellect, presented itself in the shape of a 
numerously-signed circular letter from the actors and 
actresses of the principal London theatres, begging 
him to give a morning Reading in St. James's Hall ; 
their curiosity having been excited about the famous 
" Murder " scene 
Although he disliked a morning Reading, this request, 




c = ^ 



40c 



SLEEPLESS NIGHTS. 401 

coming as it did from the members of a profession for 
which he had so much sympathy, was entirely pleasing 
to Mr. Dickens. Wishing to make such an arrange- 
ment as might meet the convenience of the greatest 
number, he agreed with Messrs. Chappell to give three 
of these morning Readings, when the provincial Read- 
ings should have been disposed of. 

They were planned for the early part of the following 
May, and were to be as follows : — Saturday, May ist : 
*' Boots at the Holly Tree Inn," and "Sikes and Nancy" 
(from ^^ Oliver Twist ") ; Saturday, May 8th : *'The 
Christmas Carol ; " Saturday, May 22nd : " Sikes and 
Nancy," and the '' Trial from Pickwick." But these 
Readings unfortunately were never given. 

After the St. James's Hall Reading of Tuesday, 
April 13th, our next towns were Leeds, Blackburn, 
Bolton, Preston, and Warrington — none of them 
genial or agreeable in climate for a person in such 
a state of health as Mr. Dickens then was, whose 
sufferings from fatigue of mind and body gave him such 
exquisite pain as to bring a return of the sleepless 
nights he had experienced in America. 

Watching his sufferings, and sympathising deeply, 
I arranged in the hotels at which we stayed to have 
a bed-room adjoining his, generally with a door com- 
municating between the rooms, that I might quietly 
drop in on him during the night (as in America) to 
see how he was getting on, and again, as in the States, 



402 CHARLES DICKENS. 

nearly always finding him wide awake, but invariably 
cheerful. At daybreak he could read, but up to that 
time he used to describe his weariness, except for my 
visits, as unendurable. 

Being in Leeds at this time, and having two vacant 
days before going to the Lancashire manufacturing 
towns, we decided to escape from the smoke and 
gloom in which we had been living; and as Chester, 
with its old walls and picturesque streets, promised a 
pleasant change, we went there for the Saturday and 
Sunday. 

The change of air affected Mr. Dickens beneficially, 
and in my nocturnal visits to him I had the satisfaction 
of knowing that he was gaining rest. 

But he had one very bad night here, and this was 
the subject of conversation between us at breakfast on 
the following morning. His mind was more disturbed 
by it than his manner would lead any one (not knowing 
him well) to suppose. 

The days were getting longer, and the weather was 
beautifully fine and warm for the season, a happy 
combination of circumstances that made me suggest 
a drive into the country as far as Mold (a small and 
picturesque Welsh market-town about fourteen miles 
from Chester). 

A carriage was turned out immediately after Mr. 
Dickens had finished his breakfast, and we started for 
this place ; the conversation again turning on the 



IN CONSULTATION. 403 

miserable night he had spent. Knowing his recent sen- 
sitiveness on all matters concerning his health, I re- 
frained from making any suggestions as to our future 
course ; although at the same time I had an instinctive 
feeling that the travelling career v^^as at an end, if not 
the Reading career also. 

Although greatly revived by the invigorating air, and 
the sight of the spring blossoms, as we travelled through 
the country, Mr. Dickens was thoughtful, and at times 
greatly depressed, and the old geniality had disappeared. 

Staying a couple of hours in Mold, to give our horses 
a rest, we passed the time in a leisurely stroll towards 
the Welsh mountains, when Mr. Dickens consulted me 
as to the best course to pursue in the face of what I 
had seen of his condition the previous night. 

In this consultation he impressed on me that he did 
not wish the conversation to have any particular refer- 
ence to himself, but rather to the interests of Messrs. 
Chappell, whose losses would be very great if we relin- 
quished any more of the Readings in order that he 
might have rest. 

Having given me this chance, I was not slow to take 
advantage of it, assuring him (as the representative of 
Messrs. Chappell), that I felt sure they would do all and 
everything in their power to adapt their arrangements 
to the altered condition of his health. 

Added to this, I suggested that we should go to 
London that evening to consult Mr. Beard on the crisis 

14 



404 CHARLES DICKENS. 

which seemed impending, and that as I had gone to 
Glasgow to return the money there, I should hasten 
back to the Lancashire towns and do the same thing 
in the places arranged for in the following week. 

It was then impossible to get back to Chester in 
time to catch the only train there was to London that 
(Sunday) afternoon, so this plan had to be given up. 

After further talk on the subject, Mr. Dickens deter- 
mined to write a letter to Mr. Beard, detailing his 
symptoms, the moment he should get back to the hotel 
in Chester, and await the result of his reply ; at the 
same time carefully watching the effect on himself of 
the two following Readings. 

To this plan I was entirely opposed, but with my 
knowledge of his pluck and determination, I felt it to 
be useless to attempt to argue the point with him, and 
so, unwillingly, I had to fall in with his views. 

On our way back to Chester all conversation sud- 
denly ceased between us, and he fell asleep in the 
soft balmy air, just as I had seen him do a fortnight 
previously, during a drive we had taken in Liverpool, 
on the day prior to the commencement of the farewell 
Readings there. 

He wrote by that evening's post to Mr. Beard, then 
dismissed the matter from his mind, and his old spirits 
returned. 

The two following days, with a Reading each evening, 
were days of great anxiety to us both. 



BLACKPOOL. 405 

He begged me not to communicate to Messrs. 
Chappell the circumstances of the Chester attack, 
until he had received a reply from Mr. Beard. Mr, 
Beard's letter came by return of post, and although 
Mr. Dickens did not communicate its contents to 
me, I felt certain they were not of a satisfactory 
character. 

Though moody and dull the whole day, he fought 
manfully through the Reading in Blackburn that 
evening, and gave it with his accustomed verve and 
vigour. 

Early the following morning we left Blackburn for 
Blackpool, where (having no Reading that evening), we 
had arranged to pass a quiet day. 

This was rather a sudden determination on our part, 
but we deemed it preferable to remaining in the smoky 
and oppressive atmosphere of Blackburn, or of Preston, 
our next town. 

I telegraphed to the Imperial Hotel for apartments, 
which on our arrival there we found most comfortable, 
and the fresh breeze blowing from the sea was most 
invigorating, and beneficial to Mr. Dickens, who re- 
vived in a wonderful manner. He gave me much hope 
that he would be enabled to get through the two 
remaining Readings of the week, in Preston and War- 
rington. 

From here he wrote again to Mr. Beard, telling him 
of the advantage he was deriving from the change, but 



4o6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

complaining of a certain sense of deadness on the left 
side, also of the difficulty of taking hold of any object 
with the left hand. 

With the return of appetite came a return of spirits, 
and as he had enjoyed two good nights' sleep we went 
to Preston on Thursday, the 22nd April, about midday, 
in the full conviction that the Chester attack (what- 
ever it might have been), had passed away; and in this 
belief I refrained from communicating on the subject 
with Messrs. Chappell. 

Preston (described by one of the most astute and 
successful theatrical managers in London, as the *' rock 
on which many a dramatic ship has been wrecked "), 
was if possible more dirty and melancholy than usual, 
its depressing effect being the greater after the invigo- 
rating walk we had taken together, in a gale of wind, 
before leaving Blackpool, when we were both nearly 
blown away. 

We were, however, cheered by the news that every 
ticket for the Reading that evening in the Guildhall 
had been disposed of, the proceeds amounting to nearly 
3^200. This information I received when I got to the 
Bull Hotel, where the local ticket agent was awaiting 
my arrival. 

In my anxiety to give Mr. Dickens the welcome 
tidings, I hastened to our sitting-room, there to find 
him standing in the front of the fire with a telegram in 
his hand, which, without a word, he handed over to me. 



A MEDICAL EXAMINATION. 407 

It was from Mr. Beard, announcing that the letter 
from Blackpool had decided him on coming to Preston 
at once; that he was then on his way, and would 
arrive in Preston at about half-past three in the 
afternoon. 

We passed the time until then in superintending the 
erection of the reading-screen, and, having done that, 
went to the station to meet Mr. Beard's train, which, 
in the perversity of things, was an hour late. Not- 
withstanding it was now considerably past our dinner 
hour, Mr. Dickens insisted on waiting his friend's arrival. 

He came at length, and we walked to the Bull 
Hotel together, calling in by the way at the Guildhall 
to show Mr. Beard the platform with the ** fit-up " as 
arranged for the evening's Reading, little thinking it 
was to be the last time he would see it in a country 
town. 

So anxious were both Mr. Dickens and Mr. Beard to 
get at the real state of the case as regarded Dickens's 
health, that the dinner was postponed until the con- 
sultation had taken place. 

This lasted over half an hour, during which time 
Mr. Dickens underwent a strict examination at the 
hands of his medical man. At the end of that 
time they joined me in the sitting-room, where I was 
waiting. 

" Shall I ring for dinner ? " I asked. 

** Wait until Beard has said what he has to say, and 



4o8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

then do as you think best," was the Chief's reply ; and 
I turned to Mr. Beard. 

** All I have to say is this," answered the doctor; '"if 
you insist on Dickens taking the platform to-night, I 
will not guarantee but that he goes through life dragging 
a foot after him." 

Big tears were now rolling down Dickens's face, and, 
crossing the room to me, he threw himself on my neck 
saying — 

" My poor boy! I am so sorry for all the trouble I 
am giving you ! With all the tickets sold, and so late 
in the day, too ! How will you manage with these 
people ? " 

Then turning to Beard, he said, "Let me try it 
to-night. It will save so much trouble." 

" As you like," replied the doctor. " I have told 
Dolby what I think. If you insist on Reading to-night 
I shall have only to stand by and watch the results." 

** But how will Dolby get through ? " 

"Never mind me, I'll get through somehow; if 
you and Beard will only leave the town at once," I 
said. "Go anywhere you like — to the Adelphi at 
Liverpool, for instance — and I will join you some time 
to-night." 

To remain in Preston was, under the circumstances, 
quite out of the question; for some ill-disposed 
person seeing him there, at the railway station, for 
instance, on the following morning after a " dis- 



A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. 409 

missal," might set some false report going, and put a 
wrong construction on his non-appearance. This sug- 
gestion being agreed to, on their part, I left them to 
get away as best they could, and I went my way to 
do the best I could. 

In catering for the public amusement, the difficulty of 
obtaining a large paying audience is well known, and it 
falls to the lot of few managers to dismiss their public 
at two hours' notice, with every ticket sold. 

It being now after five in the afternoon, and the doors 
being announced to open at seven, it became a matter 
of serious consideration with me, how to prevent per- 
sons living at a distance from coming to the Guildhall 
only to be disappointed ; and, if they should all come, 
how to get sufficient money in sovereigns, half-sove- 
reigns, half-crowns, and shillings, to return to them in 
exchange for their tickets. 

Our local agent had paid all the money he had re- 
ceived into the bank, and at that hour the banks were 
closed. 

The landlord of the Bull Hotel (Mr. Townsend), who 
had formerly been station-master at Preston, gave me 
with the utmost kindness all the money he had in the 
hotel ; and borrowing all he could from the gentlemen 
in the commercial room, we contrived between us to 
make up about ;f 120, which, being converted into change, 
made me feel easy on that score. 

The next thing to do was, if possible, to prevent people 



4IO CHARLES DICKENS. 

from coming into the town, and here Mr. Townsend 
was of the greatest service to me, going to the railway 
station and telegraphing to all the places within a 
radius of fifteen or twenty miles, to the effect that Mr- 
Dickens had been suddenly taken ill and could not 
appear ; at the same time the disappointed ones were 
informed that their money would be returned to them 
on the presentation of their tickets, on any subsequent 
day. 

The next to be considered were the townspeople, 
and those living in the immediate neighbourhood. 
These were attended to by the Mayor, who, hearing 
of my difficulty, had kindly and promptly come forward 
with an offer of help. 

Summoning to him the Chief Constable, he caused 
a number of mounted police to be despatched along 
the roads leading into Preston, and every carriage or 
cab coming in that direction was stopped, and its 
occupants apprised of what had happened. 

The Mayor personally assisted me in the distribution 
of the money to such persons as came to the hall, and 
this was done in a very efficient manner, by the simplest 
of means. 

A long table covered with green baize was arranged 
across the principal staircase leading up to the hall, 
behind which stood the Mayor and myself. The 
principal door was kept closed, and a policeman 
stationed there directed all comers to a side entrance, 



SAFE THROUGH IT. 411 

through which they reached the room where the Mayor 
and myself were. 

The total amount of money returned did not exceed 
;f20, and instead of the anticipated confusion and 
grumbling, nothing was heard but words expressive 
of deep sympathy for Mr. Dickens in his illness. There 
was, however, a little trouble with one or two ill-con- 
ditioned persons, who had seen Mr. Dickens at Black- 
pool in the morning, running after his hat, which had 
been blown from his head, in the course of our walk 
to the railway station, in the teeth of a gale of wind. 
These individuals caused County Court summonses 
to be served on Mr. Dickens, for compensation and 
disappointment, on the ground that they had seen 
him on the sands at Blackpool *' kicking his hat about 
as if he had been a boy." The only result of their 
action was that they had to apologize for their want 
of courtesy. 

I was greatly relieved when I had got rid of this 
Preston business, and was now all anxiety to get to 
Liverpool to join the Chief, as arranged, at the Adelphi 
Hotel, which we looked upon as our headquarters in 
the North of England. 

As our movements were so well known here, great 
surprise was expressed at my sudden appearance at the 
hotel at about midnight, and some eagerness also, a 
report having reached Liverpool that Mr. Dickens had 
broken down in Preston, and had suddenlv left for London 



412 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Nothing had been seen of him at the Adelphi Hotel, 
and my embarrassment was great in consequence, to 
know what had become of him and of Mr. Beard. 

As it was impossible to get any information at that 
late hour of the night, I could only wait until the 
following morning, comforted by the thought that, 
wherever he was, he had the advantage of Mr. Beard's 
care and attention. I went to bed thoroughly worn 
out with fatigue and anxiety, knowing that I should 
have to go through at Warrington, on the following day, 
all that I had just undergone at Preston. 

The news of Mr. Dickens's illness, which through 
the medium of the Preston newspapers, had reached 
Warrington before I got there, materially assisted me 
in making my arrangements ; and, as no difficulties 
presented themselves here, I was enabled to leave by 
the night train for London, to make my report to 
Messrs. Chappell, and to go in search of Mr. Dickens. 

I found him at the office apparently well, but much 
dejected, by reason of a consultation between Sir 
Thomas Watson and Mr. Frank Beard, on the previous 
day. These gentlemen had recognized the gravity of 
the case, and had declared that the attack in Chester 
evidenced a disposition to paralysis. Sir Thomas Watson 
confirming the opinion expressed by Mr. Beard, when he 
refused to listen to Mr. Dickens's appeal at Preston — to 
allow him to go through that night's Reading. They 
both said peremptorily, that there must be no Readings 



DECISION OF THE DOCTORS. 413 

in London for the present, and that all travelling in 
connection with Readings must be suspended, at once 
and for ever. I append a copy of the medical certificate. 

"The undersigned certify that Mr. Charles Dickens has been 
seriously unwell, through great exhaustion and fatigue of body and 
mind, consequent upon his public Readings and long and frequent 
railway journeys. In our judgment, Mr. Dickens will not be able 
with safety to himself to resume his Readings for several months 
to come. 

"Thos. Watson, M.D. 

"F. Carr Beard." 

This was a sad blow to Mr. Dickens, but the decision 
of the doctors was final, and had to be respected. 
Apart from the disappointment to himself, in being 
deprived of a labour in which he took so much delight, 
he was inconsolable in his sorrow at the thought of the 
inevitable losses that would accrue to Messrs. Chap- 
pell, whose treatment of him in all matters connected 
with the business had been liberal and disinterested 
in the extreme. 

The moment the doctors had decided in this wise, 
Mr. Dickens took occasion to write to the firm a letter 
expressive of his grief at the turn matters had taken ; 
but his mind was set at rest in this particular by the 
receipt of a reply from the head of the firm (Mr. 
Thomas Chappell), who, in a characteristic letter, 
couched in the most generous terms, begged Mr 
Dickens to dismiss from his mind all thoughts of any 



414 CHARLES DICKENS. 

inconvenience to which the firm might have been put 
by his illness, and expressed an earnest wish for his 
speedy and complete recovery. 

This handsome letter sent Mr. Dickens to his 
beautiful home, at Gad's Hill, in a comparatively easy 
frame of mind ; but the feeling of regret still remained, 
and in his retirement he did not cease to long for a 
return to the Reading life. 

Some months afterwards, all suspicion of the im- 
pending disease had so completely vanished, that Sir 
Thomas Watson gave it as his opinion that Mr. 
Dickens might venture on twelve farewell Readings, in 
London only. At the same time, he strictly forbade all 
travelling in connection with them. 

This announcement was received by Mr. Dickens with 
the utmost delight, and did more, I think, to promote 
his recovery to health than anything else could have 
done — except perhaps the peace and tranquility of Gad's 
Hill, and the affectionate care and attention bestowed 
upon him there by his family and friends. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

AMERICAN VISITORS AT " GAD'S " — THE LAST READINGS 
AND FAREWELL TO THE PUBLIC. 



mm 

Pi 



|HE actual state of Dickens's health was 
so very little known outside the circle of 
his immediate friends, that his rapid re- 
covery and resumption of his ordinary 
mode of life, gave rise to the belief in the public mind 
that the medical men had exaggerated the dangers of 
his case. Those, on the contrary, who were constantly 
with him, and who had had opportunities of observing 
his symptoms, felt that the restrictions placed on his 
activity were perfectly justifiable. 

No one was more thoroughly assured of this than 
Mr. Dickens himself, as was shown by a letter he wrote 
to Sir Thomas Watson on the subject, in which he 
expressed his *' implicit reliance on the professional 
skill and advice " of the distinguished physician. 

In looking back to the letters he addressed to mem- 
bers of his family and personal friends, and calling to 



4i6 CHARLES DICKENS. 

mind, as I do, his own words to me, I cannot but be 
certain that he was fully aware of the terrible malady 
by which he was threatened ; but the permission of 
Sir Thomas Watson (given some five or six weeks 
after the Preston break-down), for twelve London 
Readings, to take place early in the coming year, 
inspired him with new hope, and did much to promote 
what we all hoped would be his perfect recovery. 

Nor was this all to him, for with these Readings in 
prospect, he felt and hoped that he would be able to 
make a handsome return to Messrs. Chappell for the 
disappointment and losses they had sustained by the 
unavoidable stoppage of the former series. 

Had Mr. Dickens's health not given way, it was his 
earnest desire to make a voyage to Australia. This, 
indeed, was a frequent topic of conversation between 
us ; but I was bound to secrecy in the matter, for it 
was obviously undesirable that any inkling of his 
wishes in this respect should get into the press, either 
here or abroad. Had the papers got wind of the pro- 
ject, an amount of pressure would have been brought to 
bear upon him that must have compelled an immediate 
decision one way or the other, and this, in the then 
undecided state of his health, could not but have 
resulted in serious inconvenience to him. 

The tidings that had reached him of his sons' good 
progress in Australia, afforded him the keenest pleasure, 
and he had a strong paternal yearning to see them in 



AUSTRALIA? 417 

their new and far away home. Apart from this, there 
was the possibility of finding in Australia a new subject 
for a book. Without doubt, but for the reasons given, 
this voyage would have been made; in which event 
there is little reason to doubt that a series of Readings 
in the colony would have resulted in the addition of 
another fortune to his already ample means. 

This idea of a visit to Australia was not a new one 
with him, for some six or seven years previously, when 
travelling with my predecessor (Mr. Arthur Smith), he 
had received a proposal from a well-known firm in the 
colony to go out there and give a series of Readings 
during eight months, for which he was to receive the 
sum of ;^io,ooo and all expenses paid. 

At that time there were many weighty considerations 
which made him hesitate; — the separation from his 
family at a period when he could ill be spared, and 
the difficulty of finding a suitable person to conduct 
"All the Year Round " in his absence, being amongst 
the chief. 

There were not such strong objections now on either 
of these accounts. He had placed his family in positions 
which rendered them largely independent. As regarded 
" All the Year Round," the unfortunate accident that 
had happened to his partner and sub-editor (Mr. Wills), 
in the previous year, incapacitated that gentleman from 
the full discharge of his duties, and rendered some sort 
of change advisable in the administration of the paper. 



4i8 CHARLES DICKENS. 

It seemed best to appoint a responsible person, who 
would be capable of taking the sole charge, conducting 
it of course on the lines laid down by Mr. Dickens 
himself; Mr. Dickens to furnish an article now and 
again, which could readily be sent from a distance. 

The American experiences had taught him that a 
speculator was not necessary in a foreign country, and 
he had determined, if the journey were undertaken at 
all, to do it entirely on his own account. 

His regret at the enforced abandonment of this trip 
was very great ; but he found some consolation in the 
thought that he was at any rate free to return to his 
literary labours ; and he now began to cast about for a 
subject for a new book. The sub-editorship and general 
management of ''All the Year Round," he gave into 
the hands of his eldest son Charles, who was well 
qualified for the work. 

As often as he was in town, I was his constant com- 
panion, and many a pleasant little dinner we discussed 
together, at the "Blue Posts," in Cork Street, and 
elsewhere ; and many a happy night we spent at the 
establishment, or at a theatre. But all this while I 
noted with pain the change that was coming over him. 
I missed the old vivacity and elasticity of spirit, which 
were always wanting, except when specially called into 
requisition. 

Early in May, that he might be near his medical men 
for a while, and might at the same time avail himself 



NOCTURNAL EXPEDITIONS. 419 

of invitations from innumerable friends, he secured 
apartments at the St. James's Hotel, in Piccadilly, for 
himself, his daughter, and his sister-in-law. He had 
another object in so doing, since our valued friends, 
Mr. and Mrs. Fields, of Boston, and Mr. and Mrs. 
Childs, of Philadelphia, were on their way to England 
in the Russia; and he particularly wished to be in 
London to meet and show them as much attention as 
possible, in return for the many kindnesses he had 
received at their hands in America. 

This, in the most literal sense of the phrase, was a 
labour of love with him ; and as he never did anything 
by halves, the programme he drew up for their enter- 
tainment was Brobdignagian in its proportions. I 
may describe it briefly by saying that it would have 
taken many months to accomplish, and was utterly out 
of proportion to the time his friends could have had at 
their disposal. 

Besides visits to Gad's Hill, excursions were arranged 
to all sorts of places in and around London, not ex- 
cluding visits to the slums for those gentlemen of the 
party who might be disposed to make them. As these 
pilgrimages to " Horrible London " were chiefly noc- 
turnal, they were made under the care and guidance 
of experienced detectives from Scotland Yard. 

One night in particular, we found the value of an 
escort of this kind, when we visited the opium dens in 
the neighbourhood of Ratcliffe Highway, finishing up 



420 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the evening in a place of resort for sailors of every 
nationality, known as ** Tiger Bay." 

This was a curious experience for our American 
friends, for if there be many such ** institutions " in 
the United States, they are kept well out of the public 
gaze. 

The advent of Mr. Dickens's American visitors at 
this particular time, made a bright episode in his life ; 
and assisted more effectually than anything else could 
have done to make him forget all that he had undergone 
the previous month or two. 

He seemed never to tire of arranging some new 
pleasure party ; but the chief item in the programme 
for his friends' amusement was the visit of the whole 
of the party to Gad's Hill. 

To the American guests were added on this occasion 
a fair sprinkling of English friends, of whom I was 
fortunate enough to be one. 

The house was full to overflowing, and I, with some 
others, had to be accommodated at the " Falstaff,'* 
opposite the gates of the house. 

In addition to Mr. Dickens's family there were 
present at this memorable gathering : Mr. and Mrs. 
Fields, of Boston ; Miss Mabel Lowell, daughter of the 
American ambassador ; Mr. and Mrs. Childs, of Phila- 
delphia ; Mr. Sol Etynge, the American artist, who was 
engaged in illustrating a new edition of " Pickwick," 
then about to be published by Messrs. Fields and 



GAD'S HILL IN JUNE. 421 

Osgood, in Boston ; Doctor Fordyce Barker (Mr. 
Dickens's medical man in New York); Mr. Frederic 
Ouvry (Mr. Dickens's solicitor), and myself. 

This visit to " Gad's " was excellently timed, taking 
place as it did in the month of June (1869), when the 
country was looking its very best — the trees and hedge- 
rows resplendent with blossom, and the fields a mass 
of colour ; the nightingales, too, were in full song, and 
I remember how they astonished and delighted the 
Americans. 

My business engagements prevented me from travel- 
ling to Gad's Hill with the party on the first day of 
their visit ; but joining them on the following day, I 
was met at the Higham Station by Mr. Dickens, who 
drove there in the basket carriage, accompanied by the 
big dogs. 

I was most pleasurably surprised at seeing him, 
and more than this, for all traces of his illness had 
disappeared. In his light suit of clothes and round 
hat, carried jauntily on the side of his head, he looked 
the picture of health. He was very much sunburnt, 
and although I had only parted from him a few days 
previously, the change in him was so great that I 
hardly believed I saw before me the man who had 
looked so haggard and worn but five or six weeks ago. 

During our short drive, I expressed the surprise and 
pleasure it gave me to see so great an improvement 
in him, but he took my congratulations as a matter 



422 CHARLES DICKENS. 

of course, telling me that three or four days at the 
most in the beautiful air of his country home always 
sufficed to put him in health again. 

We got to the house just before luncheon time. All 
the guests were in the pretty enclosure known as the 
croquet ground, and it was a happiness worthy of a 
much longer journey to find one's self in the midst of so 
much that was gay, bright, and picturesque. Croquet 
and bowls, two games comparatively unknown in 
America (there being but very few grass lawns in 
that country), were both in full swing. 

The luncheon gong sounded, the signal for a general 
adjournment to the house. A very jolly party we were, 
and a large one too, for several neighbours, in addition 
to some officers from Chatham, who had dropped in 
in the course of the morning, had remained for the 
midday meal. 

As usual at this meal, the plans for the remainder of 
the day were discussed, and it was arranged that such 
of the party as were disposed for a walk should ac- 
company Mr. Dickens through Cobham Park ; others 
elected to drive into Rochester, there to take up 
Mr. Sol Etynge, who had gone to make some original 
sketches for the edition of " Pickwick " on which he 
was engaged, and to take a ramble amongst the in- 
teresting antiquities of the city. These, under the 
circumstances, had an additional charm, as being the 
scenes of so many episodes in the works of our host. 



CANTERBURY PILGRIMS. 423 

Time was never allowed to hang heavily on the hands 
of the visitors to *' Gad's," and there was no reason 
why it should ; for, independently of the unceasing 
efforts of the host and the resources at his command, 
when stress of weather kept us indoors, there was, when 
the season favoured, so much to be seen and done in the 
neighbourhood. 

As for Dickens himself, the weather very seldom kept 
him from the pedestrian exercises, of which he was so 
fond ; and many a misty walk we took to the marshes 
at Cooling, that we might get a realistic notion of the 
dreariness and loneliness of the scenes in " Great 
Expectations," made famous by *' Pip " and the 
convict. On such occasions as these we not unfre- 
quently returned wetted to the skin by a drenching rain. 

One of the most delightful days of this visit was 
occupied by a drive from Gad's Hill to Canterbury, a 
distance of twenty-nine miles, over the old Dover Road, 
through Rochester, Chatham, Sittingbourne, and Faver- 
sham. 

We were to make an early start, so as to give plenty 
of time for luncheon, in a beautiful spot already chosen, 
and allow for a ramble afterwards. 

Two post carriages were turned out with postillions, 
in the red jackets of the old Royal Dover Road, buck- 
skin breeches, and top-boots into the bargain. 

The preparations for this new pilgrimage to Canter- 
bury were of the most lavish description, and I can see 



424 CHARLES DICKENS. 

now the hampers and wine baskets blocking the steps 
of the house before they were packed in the carriages. 

Every one was in the best of spirits, the weather was 
all that could be desired, and the ladies did honour 
to it by the brightness of their costumes. We were 
all glad, too, that the restoration of the Chief's health 
enabled him to enjoy as much pleasure himself as he 
was giving to his friends. 

We started sharp to time, and travelled merrily 
over the road, with hop gardens on either side, until we 
reached Rochester, our horses making such a clatter in 
this slumbrous old city that all the shopkeepers in the 
main street turned out to see us pass. 

Mr. Dickens rode in the foremost carriage, and 
having occasion to pull up at the shop of one of the 
tradesmen in the main street of Rochester, a small 
crowd collected round the carriages. It seemed to 
be pretty generally known amongst them that Dickens 
was of the party, and we got a good deal of fun out 
of the mistake made by a man in the crowd, who 
pointed up at Mr. James T. Fields, and called out, 
** That's Dickens ! " Poor Fields was in great con- 
fusion, especially when Mr. Dickens, to complete the 
deception, handed up a small parcel to him, with the 
request, " Here you are, Dickens, take charge of this 
for me." 

Away we went again through Rochester, and, skirting 
Chatham, were soon again in the open country on the 



AN "AL FRESCO" LUNCHEON. 425 

road to Sittingbourne, where a relay of horses was 
awaiting us. 

A short rest in the brick-making town was quite 
sufficient for us, and we sped on to that haven of rest 
where it had been arranged that we should lunch. A 
more suitable spot could not have been found. It lay 
in the deep shades of a wood, with a rippling stream 
running through. 

The breakfast hour had been an early one, and the 
long drive had given an excellent edge to our appetites. 
We turned too with a ready will to unload the carriages, 
and carry the baskets into the wood. Everybody did 
something, and the cloth was speedily laid. An hour 
was the time allowed for luncheon, and out of this 
we had to let the postillions get their meal when we 
had finished. Dickens would not let us start again 
until every vestige of our visit to the wood in the shape 
of lobster shells and other debris^ had been removed. 

We drove into Canterbury in the early afternoon, 
just as the bells of the Cathedral were ringing for 
afternoon service. Entering the quiet city under the 
old gate at the end of the High Street, it seemed as 
though its inhabitants were indulging in an afternoon's 
nap after a midday dinner. But our entry and the 
clatter of our horses' hoofs roused them as it had 
done the people of Rochester, and they came running 
to their windows and out into the streets to learn what 
so much noise might mean. 



426 CHARLES DICKENS. 

We turned into the bye-street in which the Fountain 
Hotel is situated, where the carriages and horses were 
to be put up while we explored the city. 

We went first to the Cathedral, where service was 
just commencing. There was a very small congrega- 
tion, and we were all disappointed at the careless, half- 
hearted manner in which the service was performed. 
The seeming indifference of the officiating clergy jarred 
most acutely on Dickens's feelings, for he, who did all 
things so thoroughly, could not conceive how (as he 
afterwards said), any persons accepting an office, or a 
trust so important as the proper rendering of our beau- 
tiful Cathedral Service, could go through their duties in 
this mechanical and slip-shod fashion. He returned to 
this subject on several subsequent occasions. As the 
service had tended rather to depress than to elevate 
our spirits, we were all glad to get out into the fresh air 
of the cloisters, on its termination. 

Being in Canterbury Cathedral, Mr. Dickens con- 
sidered it necessary to show his friends the many 
objects of interest to be found there ; and after he had 
politely but speedily got rid of a tedious verger who 
wanted to lead the way, he played the part of cicerone 
himself, in the most genial and learned style in the 
world. 

Under his pleasant and instructive guidance, the 
afternoon passed only too quickly, and we stayed so 
long in the grand old Cathedral that we had but little 



CANTERBURY. 427 

time to spare for a ramble through the sleepy streets. 
Some of the Americans were rather disappointed at 
this, for, knowing the accuracy of Dickens's descrip- 
tions, they had shown an extreme curiosity to see and 
examine for themselves the very house where David 
Copperfield went to school. 

There are, however, many houses in Canterbury which 
would answer to Dickens's description of ** Doctor 
Strong's " ; and in reply to one of the party who had 
asked him to point out the particular house, he said, 
laughingly, that '' there were several that would do." 
We took tea at the hotel, and then at about six 
o'clock started on our homeward journey, Canterbury 
having by this time quite got over the effects of its 
day-sleep. The people were enjoying their stroll in 
the cool of the evening, and the streets presented a 
much more animated appearance than they had done 
on our arrival. 

In the interval between drowsiness and wakefulness, 
Canterbury had evidently summoned sufficient energy 
to make inquiries about our party ; and learning that 
no less a person than Charles Dickens was responsible 
for having disturbed their slumbers earlier in the 
day, the good people at once forgave us all, and 
were quite hearty in their salutations as we left the 

town. 

There was never a more delightful ride on a summer's 
evening than the one we took then. The day was fast 



428 CHARLES DICKENS. 

closing in, and as there was no reason for loitering on 
the road, we sped along at a rattling pace. 

The journey from Gad's Hill to Canterbury had 
taken nearly five hours, including the time allowed for 
luncheon and loitering. The journey home was made 
in less than three, and we forgot our fatigue in the 
enjoyment of supper. It seems to me, as I look back 
over the years that have intervened, that I enjo3/ed a 
great privilege, no less than a rare pleasure, in being 
in the company of my dear old Chief when he took this 
his last visit to Canterbury, in the streets of which he 
had so often wandered in his earlier days. 

The next day, the red-jacketed postillions were 
ordered out again, and we commenced with a visit to 
Chatham, which in an aesthetic point of view is not an 
interesting place. The streets are very narrow and 
most consumedly dirty. But if the town itself be dis- 
agreeable, the society is very much the reverse. Mr. 
Dickens had many friends among the naval and 
military officers and their families, .whom duty com- 
pels to exist in that objectionable place, and of these, 
none whom he valued more than the general com- 
manding the district at the time — General Freeman 
Murray. 

In compliment to Mr. Dickens and his American 
friends, the general had organized an early reception at 
his house, in the grounds of which he had provided us 
with a military band. 



A DANCE AT "GAD'S." 429 

The general conducted us through some of the 
barracks, and we visited several of the officers in their 
quarters, returning to Gad's Hill for luncheon. General 
Murray, who made one of the party, afterwards had 
his drag out, and gave us a most enjoyable drive. He 
brought us home through Cobham Park, where, dis- 
daining the roadways, he made short cuts across the 
level turf, dodging in and out under the magnificent 
trees, which made it rather lively for the general's out- 
side passengers. But the general is an excellent whip, 
and nobody was killed. 

There was a grand dinner-party in the evening with 
a reception afterwards, which many friends in the 
neighbourhood attended. The furniture had been re- 
moved from the drawing-room during dinner for a 
dance, and it was not until the morning light peeped 
in at the windows that the guests separated. 

This was the last party given at "Gad's" on so exten- 
sive a scale, although there were several smaller ones 
during the happy summer of i86g. Most of these 
were given in honour of American friends, whose kind- 
ness to him in their own country he seemed never able 
to repay to his own full satisfaction. 

On occasions like these he would sacrifice himself 
entirely to their pleasure ; and with his happy gift of 
divining the tastes and sympathies of each one of his 
guests, he would collect such English friends around 
them whom he felt would complete a harmonious party. 



430 CHARLES DICKENS. 

Later on, I was present at a gathering of this kind, 
which was promoted in honour of Mr. W. H. Palmer, 
of Niblo^s Theatre, New York. 

The friendship which existed between Mr. Dickens 
and Mr. Charles Fechter, the tragedian, is well known ; 
and he was endeavouring at this time to procure for 
Fechter a season's engagement at Niblo's. 

At Mr. Dickens's request, I undertook the preliminary 
negotiations, and we were both gratified by the success 
with which our efforts were rewarded. 

After much correspondence, and the usual troubles 
incident to such undertakings, Mr. Palmer came to 
England to close the matter. Mr. Dickens himself 
drew up the agreement. 

The signing of this document was made the occasion 
of another " international " gathering at Gad's Hill, 
where, on a particular day, the parties to it were to 
meet and affix their signatures, in the presence of 
witnesses specially chosen by Mr. Dickens. 

The party was composed of representative actors and 
dramatic critics of the time, the late Mr. Benjamin 
Webster being the selected representative of the 
English Theatre. 

It was a merry gathering, and as no lady visitors 
were in the house at the time, Bohemianism held undis- 
puted sway. On this, as on other occasions, every 
hour of our visit was mapped out, and there was not 
a dull moment in the day. 



A BRILLIANT MATCH. 431 

The weather unfortunately was miserably wet, so 
that we were dependent for our amusements on the 
internal resources of the establishment. 

The business on which we had met was first disposed 
of, and success to the enterprise having been proposed 
by Mr. Dickens, and drunk in a glass of old Madeira, 
we adjourned to the billiard-room, where a match had 
been arranged between Mr. Benjamin Webster and 
Mr. Palmer. Mr. Dickens acted as marker. 

The disparity between the players appeared to be 
very great, for the American was in the prime of life, 
whereas the Englishman was far advanced in years 
and very feeble. Dickens, however, who knew Mr. 
Webster's *' form," opened the betting by backing him 
to win. Fechter backed his new manager, and the 
rest of the company held aloof from the market for a 
time. It must be said that the bets were of a very 
trifling description, for Dickens always set his face 
against gambling. 

The game was closely contested, but Webster carried 
it off. Notwithstanding his great age and infirmity, it 
was most entertaining to see with what unerring cer- 
tainty he made his strokes, although before each one it 
took him some moments to make his bridge. Dickens 
was delighted at his old friend's success, but to me he 
said — *' Bless you! that's nothing. Ben, as a young 
man, was in the habit of tossing in the streets with pie- 
men for pies, and invariably won ! He'll show us after 



432 CHARLES DICKENS. 

dinner some of the tricks he used to do in those days, 
and I think he'll rather astonish you." 

Webster did give us an exhibition after dinner, which 
was very ingenious and amusing, Dickens using all his 
endeavours to baffle the skill of the operator. 

His interest in all that appertained to the theatrical 
world never left him, and one of the latest acts of his 
life was to correct an agreement for Miss Glynn (Mrs. 
Dallas), who had received offers to visit Australia, 
through the agency of the late Mr. E. P. Kingston, 
Artemus Ward's manager. Mr. Dickens took immense 
pains to revise the agreement, making in it such altera- 
tions and amendments as would protect her interests 
in the Colonies, and doing it all in an eminently 
practical and business-like manner. 

All too rapidly, the happiest of summers passed 
away, and with it departed the friends whom he had 
taken so much pleasure in entertaining. When they 
were gone, the Chief was more free to follow his own 
pursuits ; with intervals of visiting. He had long been 
under a promise to pay a visit to his friend Earl 
Russell, at Pembroke Lodge, and he went there now. 
As he was only to remain one night, he did not take 
a servant. Knowing Lord Russell's very temperate 
habits, he had ordered a bottle of Ballard's celebrated 
punch to be packed in his portmanteau, intending (as 
Lord and Lady Russell always retired early), to mix his 
own grog when he went to his room. 



THE CHIEF'S GROG. 433 

While talking with his host and hostess in the 
drawing-room before dinner, Lord Russell's valet 
entered and asked Mr. Dickens for the key of his 
portmanteau, so that he might have his things in 
readiness for him when he should need to dress for 
dinner. Remembering the punch, he thanked the valet, 
and said he *' would put out his things himself." 

The conversation continued, and when the dressing- 
bell rang, Mr. Dickens went to his room, where he was 
amazed to find his dressing-table arranged from the 
contents of his travelling-bag (which had not been 
locked), and his bottle of punch placed on the mantle- 
shelf, with a tumbler, wine-glass, and corkscrew placed 
beside it. At this spectacle he was troubled in spirit. 

At about half-past ten, the early hour observed by 
Lord Russell's household, he rose to wish his host 
and hostess " good-night," when Lady Russell, with a 
laugh, in which her husband joined her, said, " Don't 
be in a hurry, the tray will be here in a minute." 

At this moment the servant came in with a tray, on 
which were all the materials for the manufacture of 
punch; *'just the same," said Dickens, "as it always 
was at Gad's Hill." 

The incident amused him a good deal, and gave him 
one more story to tell against himself. 

As always happened in his intervals of work, we 
were much together at this time. We still kept up 
our Thursday luncheons, and in the afternoon of these 



434 CHARLES DICKENS. 

days we generally made an excursion somewhere, 
finishing up with a dinner at one or other of his 
favourite taverns, a proceeding which pleasantly re- 
freshed our memory of bygone days. The houses 
he liked best were **The Cock" and *' Cheshire 
Cheese " in Fleet Street, the " Blue Posts " in Cork 
Street, Clunns Hotel in Covent Garden Market, or 
the "Albion" opposite Drury Lane Theatre. After 
dinner, if there were no special attraction at any 
other theatre, we would call in at the *' Princess's," 
where Fechter was playing his farewell engagement, 
or step across to the office for a glass of his " cele- 
brated gin punch," and a cigar, before separating for 
the night; which, by the way, we never did without 
making an appointment for some future day. 

It was his rule never to say ** good-bye " to his 
intimates. To me, when we had settled our next 
meeting, it was always a cordial " Good-day." 

Towards the end of July, the idea for a new book 
had taken possession of him — the unfinished " Edwin 
Drood " — and in our rambles at this time I could see 
that it was much in his thoughts. 

In the early pages of this work, he utilized the scene 
we had witnessed at the opium den in Ratcliffe High- 
way, which we visited with Fields, Sol Etynge, and 
his American friends in the early summer. 

The price agreed to be paid to him for this book, 
he confided to me, was the largest sum given for any 



THE LARGEST SUM EVER PAID. 43S 

work from his or any other hands. It was to be 
^7,500 for the copyright, and a half share of the profits 
after a sale of twenty-five thousand copies. In ad- 
dition to this he was to receive ;f 1,000 for the advance 
sheets sent to America. 

Gigantic as these figures seemed to me at the time, 
it would appear that the publishers had not made 
their bargain rashly (indeed I never heard of a pub- 
lisher who did make a bargain rashly), inasmuch as 
the total sales of the work during the author's lifetime 
exceeded fifty thousand copies ; though the book was 
little more than half finished, and only about one-third 
Df it in the press. 

The composition of this work gave him a great deal 
of trouble and anxiety. I asked him one day how he 
liked returning to the writing of a serial story, and 
he replied at once that he " missed the pressure " of 
former days; which I took to mean that as his cir- 
cumstances were comfortable now, the work was irk- 
some. 

There is, to me at all events, a suggestion of pathos in 

one of the conditions between Dickens and his publisher 

in regard to the sum to be paid for '' Edwin Drood." 

It could, I think, only have been suggested by himself, 

and proceeded from his nervous fear that a return of 

the Chester illness might prevent him from carrying 

the work to a conclusion. The condition was to the 

effect that in the event either of Mr. Dickens's death, 

1=; 



436 CHARLES DICKENS. 

or of his inability from any other cause, to complete the 
work he had undertaken, it should be referred to the 
arbitration of such persons as he then appointed, to 
decide what amount of money ought to be returned 
out of his estate to his publishers, as just and proper 
compensation for the loss sustained by them. 

Not only was the composition of this book a severe 
labour to him, but he was sorely puzzled for a long 
while to find a title that pleased him. This, however, 
being at length decided on, he gave a little dinner of 
three, a sort of christening party, at which we drank 
but one toast, " Success to the ' Mystery of Edwin 
Drood.' " This was proposed by myself, and was 
humorously responded to by the parent author. 

With '' Edwin Drood " to complete, and " All the 
Year Round" to edit; with the preparation necessary 
for the twelve farewell Readings in London, and for an 
Inaugural Address, which, in his capacity of President of 
the Midland Institute, he was under promise to deliver 
at Birmingham, his hands and brain were again fully 
occupied — too fully indeed for one who had escaped, by 
a miracle, as it were, a terrible and most dangerous ill- 
ness. Indeed, his time was so fully absorbed by the 
matters I have mentioned, to say nothing of his exten- 
sive private correspondence, that it became absolutely 
necessary for him to decline all hospitable invitations, 
and to settle down again to his systematic mode of life. 
The monotony of this was varied only by weekly visits 



EDUCATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 437 

to Gad's Hill, with a friend or two for company ; visits 
which seldom lasted longer than from Saturday to 
Monday, except perhaps when some friends from 
abroad were passing through London on their way 
home. 

The Birmingham Inaugural Address was delivered 
on Monday, September 27th, and the Town Hall 
was crammed; inconveniently so, in fact, as far as 
Mr. Dickens's comfort was concerned. Education for 
the People was the subject of the address, and the 
applications for tickets were so numerous that the 
committee had no alternative but to give up a portion 
of the platform. This was an arrangement which 
Dickens always strongly objected to. He hated talking 
to people who were sitting behind him, for in his case 
at all events they were certain to lose much, if, while 
hearing his voice, they could not at the same time 
watch the varied play of his features. 

This objection he desired me to state one day in a 
letter he asked me to write in answer to the request 
of a committee, that a distinguished nobleman should 
take the chair at one of the Readings. I said that not- 
withstanding Mr. Dickens's " appreciation of the com- 
pliment proposed to be paid to him, he regretted being 
compelled to decline it, as it was a rule he made on 
such occasions, never to allow any gentleman on the 
platform (except himself), certainly not in view of the 
audience," 



438 CHARLES DICKENS. 

As I found that the arrangements of the committee 
of the Midland Institute (when I waited on them on our 
arrival in Birmingham), were as unalterable as certain 
famous laws, the Chief accepted the situation with a 
good grace, and made a most effective speech on this 
favourite subject of his, promising to return the fol- 
lowing year to distribute the prizes to the students. 

Having occasion to make some purchases before 
leaving Birmingham, we went to Elkington's for this 
purpose. While we were being escorted over the 
factory, Mr. Dickens's quick eye detected some dilapi- 
dated tea-urns, whose appearance struck him as 
familiar. On inquiry he learned that they were old 
friends, from one of the refreshment-rooms on the 
London and North Western Railway. Dickens over- 
hauled them with much interest ; and observing the 
shocking bad state of the insides, he derived a 
melancholy gratification in thinking how true was his 
satire in the " Boy at Mugby," upon the manner in 
which " refreshmenting " at railway stations was then 
conducted. To quote Mr. Dickens's words at the 
time, these urns had been *' for goodness knows how 
many years the cause of poisoning the passengers with 
a beverage produced under the active agency of hot 
water, and a mixture of decomposed lead, copper, and 
a few other deadly poisons." 

This remark was made to Messrs. Elkington's 
manager who, being well up in his Dickens, had a 



CHAIR. 439 

lively recollection of the " Boy at Mugby," and was 
greatly pleased at having first hand from him so 
pertinent a criticism on a trade in which he was 
remotely interested. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fields returned to London from their 
continental trip, early in this October, and during their 
brief sojourn were constant visitors at "Gad's." Dickens, 
Fields, and myself were a good deal together in play 
hours; and in our peregrinations about town we dis- 
covered that Fields, whilst on the Continent, had de- 
veloped the collector's mania for bric-a-brac and old 
furniture. Mr. Dickens, who quite entered into his 
friend's humour in this matter, would spend whole 
afternoons with him in Wardour Street, Hanway 
Street, and New Oxford Street; and, but for his fre- 
quent intervention, Fields would have bought at fabu- 
lous prices old chairs and old furniture enough of all 
descriptions to fill the hold of an Atlantic steamer. 
With a view to cure him of the mania, Mr. Dickens 
wrote him a letter one day describing a chair we had 
both seen in a shop in Great Queen Street. ** There 
is a chair (without a bottom), at a shop near the office, 
which I think would suit you. It cannot stand of 
itself, but will almost seat somebody, if you put it in a 
corner, and prop one leg up with two wedges, and cut 
another leg off. The proprietor asks ^f 20, but says he 
admires literature and would take £18. He is of re- 
publican principles, and I think would take £iy 19s. 



440 CHARLES DICKENS. 

from a cousin ; shall I secure this prize ? It is very 
old and wormy, and it is related, without proof, that on 
one occasion Washington declined to sit down on it." 

Being in America two years after the death of Mr. 
Dickens, Fields gave me a copy of this letter, with 
permission to reproduce it. He himself, I believe, 
published it in an American paper. 

On one of my autumnal visits to ** Gad's," after the 
departure of Mr. and Mrs. Fields, I found the Chief 
planning fresh alterations to the house with the object 
of making it more perfect, if possible, than it was 
already. The principal improvement he contemplated 
was the enlargement of the dining-room, by the building 
of a spacious conservatory at one end of it ; and this 
rather expensive scheme was carried out during the 
London Readings. For convenience during this fare- 
well series, he rented the house belonging to his friends, 
Mr. and Mrs. Milner Gibson, No. 5, Hyde Park Place, 
opposite the Marble Arch ; and here he moved with his 
family, early in January of the following year. 

The return to hard work, and the confinement con- 
sequent on it, brought back the trouble to the foot, and 
towards the end of the year he was quite unable to take 
any real walking exercise. With this exception, his health 
was invariably good ; but his animal spirits, although 
far from flagging, were less gay than of old. I, for 
my part, noticed a slow but steady change working 
in him, and had serious doubts whether he would 



THE LAST CHRISTMAS DAY. 441 

be able to get through the twelve Readings announced, 
for which I need hardly say there was an extraordinary 
demand for tickets, long in advance of the dates fixed 
for their delivery. 

My weekly reports on this head always cheered him, 
and as the time for the Readings drew near, he became 
very anxious to have the new book as far forward as 
possible, before he was again called upon to take the 
platform. He felt that the pressure of the Readings 
would be great, particularly, of course, at the com- 
mencement, when there were to be two a week. 

As usual, he went to Gad's Hill to spend the Christ- 
mas. Writing to me, he said that this Christmas was 
one of great pain and misery to him, and contrasted it 
mournfully with the one we had spent together in 
America, on our journey from Boston to New York. 
Then, as he said pathetically, he had the use of his 
legs, but this Christmas he had been confined to his 
bed the whole day, only getting up in the evening to 
join the party in the drawing-room after dinner. It 
was in this way that he, who had done so much to 
make the Christmas festival dear to the hearts of his 
countrymen, spent his last Christmas Day. 

The farewell Readings commenced on Tuesday, the 
nth January, 1870, and terminated in the middle of 
March. They were, as I have already said, a series of 
twelve, of which three were to be given in the morning 
or afternoon. 



442 CHARLES DICKENS. 

These latter were in the place of the course an- 
nounced for the previous May, which were to have 
been given specially for the benefit of the theatrical 
profession, many of whose members had memorialized 
Mr. Dickens on the subject. Although these entailed 
on him a vast deal of additional labour and fatigue, he 
entered into the Readings for the players with greater 
zest, I think, than into any others of the course. He 
wanted to show them how much a single performer 
could do without the aid and stimulus of any of the 
ordinary adjuncts of the stage ; how many effects of a 
genuinely startling character could be produced without 
the help of scenery, costume, limelight, or mechanical 
contrivances. 

He succeeded to perfection, in the presence even of 
so thoroughly critical an audience. They applauded 
every point, cheering each well-known character as the 
reader, by mere change of voice, manner, and action, 
brought forward the people of his tales. The presence 
of a large number of actors and actresses made these 
morning Readings very lively and pleasant ; but the 
strain was great upon the reader. 

This he admitted himself, and in regard to the past 
he confessed to me at this time that it was madness 
ever to have given the ** Murder " Reading, under the 
conditions of a travelling life, and worse than madness 
to have given it with such frequency. 

In the interests of Messrs. Chappell, he had pledged 



FRESH DANGER. 443 

himself to give these Readings, and being, as he fondly 
supposed, restored to health, these interests far out- 
weighed, in his estimation, any consequences of an 
unpleasant kind that might accrue to himself. 

To be sure, he was fortified by the opinion of Sir 
Thomas Watson that the Readings could be under- 
taken with safety, but he himself (no less than his 
friends), was not without anxiety as to the result. It 
is only just to add that those most interested in the 
financial success of the undertaking (I mean Messrs. 
Chappell), were desirous, even at the last moment, to 
make any sacrifices rather than that Mr. Dickens's 
health should suffer by his fulfilment of the engage- 
ment. 

The journey to Birmingham for the purpose of giving 
away the prizes to the students of the Midland Institute, 
a few days before the commencement of the farewell 
Readings, added to the fatigue of delivering the address 
(which was one of his longest efforts in public speak- 
ing), had shaken him so severely that, on his return to 
London, he again sought the professional advice of Mr. 
Carr Beard. Mr. Beard found such a marked change 
for the worse in the general condition of his patient, 
that he thought it advisable to be present at the 
Readings, in order to note carefully their visible effects 
on his health. 

If other proof were wanting as to the immense strain 
on Mr. Dickens's nervous system during the delivery 



444 CHARLES DICKENS. 

of the Readings, it would have been sufficient to 
observe the changes in his pulse. 

It was curious to note the different effects of 
the different Readings. The ordinary state of Mr. 
Dickens's pulse was 72. " David Copperfield " brought 
it up to 96 ; '' Doctor Marigold," 99 ; the first night of 
the " Murder " (during the last Readings), it was 112 ; 
and the second, 118; " Nicholas Nickleby" brought it 
to 112 ; and ** Dombey " to 114. On one occasion it 
rose to 124. At the last Reading of all, when he went 
on the platform for the " Christmas Carol," his pulse 
marked 108, and at the conclusion of the Reading it 
had risen to no. He, himself, was astounded at the 
high state of his pulse after the last " Copperfield " 
Reading, and explained it by the emotion he felt in 
parting (for the last time), with the Reading which he 
liked better almost than any of the others, and which 
had done so much to popularize the whole series. 
Although his pulse frequently ran as high during many 
other Readings, the aftai' effects were not so serious as 
when he left the platform on the termination of the 
** Murder " Reading. 

On these occasions, he would have to be supported 
to his retiring-room and laid on a sofa for fully ten 
minutes, before he could speak a rational or con- 
secutive sentence. 

These were painful and anxious moments for all 
of us, but he allowed himself but this brief interval 



THE CROWNING TRIUMPH. 44$ 

between each Reading. When time was up he would, 
however, pull himself together, swallow a wine-glassful 
of weak brandy-and-water, and rush on to the platform 
for the final Reading of the evening. This was always 
a light one, which helped to quiet him after the excite- 
ment he had undergone, but was chosen less for this 
purpose than because he considered it necessary for 
the audience as a sort of antidote to what had gone 
before. 

Through suffering and anxiety such as this it was 
that Dickens redeemed his promise of giving these 
twelve farewell Readings ; and as he wiped them out 
one by one, his feverish excitement and his bodily pain 
increased. 

The final farewell Reading of Tuesday, the 15th 
March, was one of the hardest struggles he had to 
face, but he went through it with a manliness and 
good temper which eclipsed all his previous efforts. 
The previous Readings of this series had far sur- 
passed, in the matter of receipts, any that had gone 
before them in England ; but this one was the crown- 
ing triumph. 

The largest audience that had ever assembled in the 
great St. James's Hall for a Reading was present for 
this " Farewell." It was a representative gathering, not 
only in an artistic point of view, but a far wider sense, 
for all sorts and conditions of men came to bid a 
public farewell to their great favourite, to the man 



446 CHARLES DICKENS. 

who, more than any other writer of his generation, 
had addressed himself to "the people.'* 

Messrs. Chappell's staff had contrived to pack 
over two thousand persons into the hall, and the 
receipts amounted to nearly ^^425. More persons 
than this have assembled in St. James's Hall, but 
the conditions under which this crowd was accommo- 
dated with seats were not a little remarkable, for it 
should be remembered that the whole of the plat- 
form was screened off by Mr. Dickens's *'fit-up," 
consisting of the back screens and curtains; and 
further, that the ends of the balconies were partitioned 
off in conformity with the reading-screens and curtains. 
This would diminish the ordinary holding capacity 
of the hall to the extent of nearly four hundred 
persons. 

Long before the doors were opened, an immense 
crowd had assembled at the Regent Street and Pic- 
cadilly entrances, and it was but the work of a few 
moments to sell sufficient tickets to fill the " shilling '* 
seats. The numbers turned away were far greater 
than those that were able to be admitted. Had the 
hall been twice or three times the size, we should have 
filled it easily. The fact that the highest-priced seat 
was five shillings and the lowest a shilling makes 
the receipts all the more astonishing. 

The Readings on this memorable occasion were, the 
"Christmas Carol" and the "Trial from Pickwick," 



A SPLENDID RECEPTION. 447 

and as eight o'clock, the time for commencing, 
drew near, the excitement of the people increased. 
Punctually to the moment, Mr. Dickens walked on to 
the platform, book in hand, but evidently much agi- 
tated. He was thinking, I dare say, that this was to 
be the very last time he would address an audience 
in his capacity of reader. 

He had taken scarcely less pleasure and delight in 
his public Readings than in the pursuit of his legi- 
timate calling, and at the thought that he was about to 
abandon them, there was a struggle in his mind which 
his fine features reflected. But no feeling of sadness 
could have been retained in face of the unanimity and 
splendour of the reception that was accorded him. 
The immense audience rose to their feet and cheered 
him to the echo. This lasted some minutes. In 
spontaneity and warmth it was a provincial rather 
than a metropolitan reception. It had the instant 
effect of nerving him up to his work, and he never 
read the " Carol " more earnestly, more fervently, or 
more effectively than on this occasion. The audience, 
needless to say, were in supreme sympathy with the 
reader. Not a word was lost. They seemed to feel 
that they were hearing him for the last time. 

The same may be said of the "Trial from Pickwick," 
which concluded the evening's entertainment. All 
the old familiar characters seemed to stand out more 
deliciously clear than ever; and each was cheered as 



448 CHARLES DICKENS. 

the reader presented him to the mind's eye of the 
listener. Sergeant Buzfuz, Mrs. Cluppins, Nathaniel 
Winkle, Sam Weller, and the little puisne judge 
(" puny ") Mr. Dickens used to say with action, point- 
ing to the late Lord Chief Justice Cockburn when he 
was present, as he was on this occasion — all of these 
had their own particular reception. 

After this came the saddest, and (so far as Mr. 
Dickens was concerned), the most dreaded part of 
all. He had responded several times to the calls 
for his reappearance, but seemed anxious to defer as 
long as possible the few words of farewell he had 
mentally prepared. But it had to be done, and, 
nerving himself up for this crowning effort, he 
returned once more to the little table (for the last 
time and for ever), and, with a voice full of emo- 
tion, and amid breathless silence, he spoke as 
follows: — 

'' Ladies and Gentlemen, — It would be worse than 
idle, for it would be hypocritical and unfeeling, if I were 
to disguise that I close this episode of my life with 
feelings of very considerable pain. For some fifteen 
years in this hall, and in many kindred places, I have 
had the honour of presenting my own cherished ideas 
before you for your recognition, and in closely observ- 
ing your reception of them, I have enjoyed an amount 
of artistic delight and instruction which perhaps it is 
given to few men to know. 




/*'h 



tlffffif 








ST. JAMES'S HALL, LONDON, WHERE DICKENS GAVE HIS 
FAREWELL READINGS. 



448 



FAREWELL SPEECH. 449 

*' In this task, and in every other I have ever under- 
taken as a faithful servant of the public, always imbued 
with the sense of duty to them, and always striving to 
do his best, I have been uniformly cheered by the 
readiest response, the most generous sympathy, and 
the most stimulating support. 

" Nevertheless, I have thought it well in the full 
flood tide of your favour to retire upon those older 
associations between us which date much farther back 
than these, and thenceforth to devote myself exclu- 
sively to the art that first brought us together. 

" Ladies and Gentlemen, — In two short weeks from 
this time I hope that you may enter in your own 
homes on a new series of readings at which my assist- 
ance will be indispensable ; ' but from these garish 
lights I vanish now for evermore, with a heartfelt, 
grateful, respectful, and affectionate farewell." 

During the delivery of this short and impressive 
speech, notwithstanding his visible emotion, he never 
paused or made an instant's hesitation, and the strength 
of his feelings was only slightly observable in the words 
(and the accent accompanying them), " from these 
garish lights I vanish now for evermore." These carry 
with them to this day a sad significance in the remem- 
brance of those still living who, in return for the love 
and affection he bestowed on them, felt they could 

' This of course was in reference to " The Mystery of Edwin 
Drood," which was shortly to be published. 



4SO CHARLES DICKENS. 

never do enough to relieve him, if it were possible, of 
the sufferings which were only too apparent in their 
almost daily intercourse with him. 

Leaving the platform, amidst acclamations of the 
most tumultuous kind, he proceeded to his retiring- 
room with quite a mournful gait, and tears rolling 
down his cheeks. But he had to go forward yet once 
again, to be stunned by a more surprising outburst 
than before, and dazzled by the waving of handker- 
chiefs. Respectfully kissing his hand, Mr. Dickens 
retired for the last time. 

The words he had uttered in his farewell speech in 
Boston, in 1868 : " In this brief life of ours it is sad 
to do almost anything for the last time," came back to 
him that night, and he mentioned them to me with a 
pathetic comment. 

In taking leave of Mr. Dickens in this capacity, it 
may be interesting to set down the total number of 
public Readings he gave. 

Putting aside those given for charitable or friendly 
purposes between the years 1854 and 1858, in which 
latter year, at St. Martinis Hall, April 29, 1858, he 
commenced reading for his own especial benefit, up to 
the time of his retirement from the platform, at St. 
James's Hall, March 15, 1870, the full number of 
Readings was 423. 

Of these in were given under the management of 
Mr. Arthur Smith ; 70 under the management of Mr, 



NET PROFITS. 451 

Headland (who succeeded to the post of manager on 
the death of Mr. Smith), and 242 under my manage- 
ment. These latter were delivered in England, Ire- 
land, Scotland, and America, between April 10, 1866, 
and March 15, 1870. 

Mr. Dickens kept no particular account of the 
amount of money he netted from the Readings under 
the management of Messrs. Arthur Smith and Head- 
land, but he always computed it at about ;fi2,ooo. 
Out of the 242 Readings given under my management 
(which included the three engagements of Messrs. 
Chappell and Co.), he cleared nearly ;f33,ooo. 

Handsome as these results were, and of course highly 
satisfactory to Mr. Dickens, they were purchased at the 
dear cost of the sacrifice of his health. But his career 
as a public reader was his own choice, and setting aside 
his pecuniary profits, the pleasure he derived from it is 
not to be told in words. For my part, at this distance 
of time, I think less of the dark than of the bright side 
of those never-to-be-forgotten days. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

HYDE PARK PLACE— THE CHIEF'S LAST DAYS IN TOWN. 

|HEN the feeling of pain at parting with 
the audiences, between whom and himself 
such kindly relations had always existed, 
had passed away, Mr. Dickens was re- 
lieved by the thought that he would now enjoy unin- 
terrupted leisure for the completion of ''Edwin Drood." 
For at this time only three numbers of the story were 
in the printer's hands. 

The situation of the house he had taken in Hyde Park 
Place accorded entirely with his fancy. It overlooked 
the park, where the perpetual movement and gaiety at 
that season of the year had a great charm for him. He 
used to say to me that he never minded the noise at 
night, and in the early morning, the rattling of the 
heavy waggons passing from the Great Western station 
at Paddington to the various markets was a source of 
satisfaction to him, for if he were awakened by it, he 



MR. ARTHUR HELPS. 453 

had the gratification of knowing that whilst he had 
been asleep an important portion of the world was astir. 
For this reason, too, he enjoyed his nights at the 
office ; and ** he had a sense of personal security in 
living in a street in which, when the last cab had gone 
* off,' the first market cart came ' on.' " 

With the exceptions of "Edwin Drood," and his 
editorial duties in connection with *'A11 the Year 
Round," he had now nothing of importance on his 
mind. Moreover, as there were many invitations to 
dinner, &c., which had of necessity to be declined dur- 
ing the Readings, and he had a good many entertain- 
ments to give on his own account, he found the situation 
of the house in Hyde Park Place admirably convenient 
for the former, and the arrangements of the house itself 
perfect for the latter. 

Amongst the old and intimate friends he welcomed 
at this time, was Mr. Arthur Helps, whose name I single 
out because of the little story that follows. 

On one occasion when Dickens was entertaining Helps 
at dinner, he showed him a collection of very interest- 
ing photographs, depicting scenes on the battle-fields in 
the American Civil War. These had been presented to 
Mr. Dickens in Washington by Mr. Franklin Philp, 
who at the time held a high official position in that 
city. These photographs were the means, through Mr. 
Helps's agency, of bringing about an interview between 
Mr. Dickens and Her Majesty the Queen. Amongst all 



454 CHARLES DICKENS. 

his admirers there was none who held him in higher 
esteem, or had a warmer appreciation of the good and 
kindly influence of his works, than Her Majesty. 

At the time of the sale of Thackeray's effects, the 
Queen had caused to be bought, regardless of cost, for 
the private library at Buckingham Palace, a presen- 
tation copy of the "Christmas Carol," bearing an 
appropriate and characteristic inscription on the title- 
page, expressive of the pleasure Dickens had derived 
from a poem of Thackeray's. 

Mr. Helps having casually told the Queen of the 
interesting character of the photographs, Her Majesty 
expressed a great desire to see them. This being com- 
municated to Mr. Dickens, he at once sent the book to 
Mr. Helps for Her Majesty's inspection; and on the 
Queen expressing a wish to see Mr. Dickens, and thank 
him in person, he went to Buckingham Palace in obedi- 
ence to Her Majesty's desires, on an afternoon of March, 
1870. 

The Queen was in London only for a day or two, and 
Dickens imagined, not unnaturally, that the innumerable 
calls on the time and attention of Her Majesty would 
leave space for an interview of about a quarter of an 
hour. So, as the time appointed was five in the after- 
noon, he engaged me to meet him in the Burlington 
Arcade at half-past, when we were to dine together at 
the " Blue Posts," in Cork Street. However, the Chief 
had grievously miscalculated the probable duration of 



AN AUDIENCE OF HER MAJESTY. 455 

that interview, for instead of lasting ten or fifteen 
minutes, it was prolonged for an hour and a half. It 
was half-past six when he put in an appearance at our 
place of meeting. 

When his brougham pulled up at the Piccadilly end 
of the Arcade, I could see that the interview had been 
an agreeable one, for he was radiant with smiles. 
Stepping out of his carriage, he gave hasty instruc- 
tions to his servant to drive straight home, and to take 
particular care of a book he had left inside, which was 
to be given to Miss Dickens the moment he arrived at 
Hyde Park Place. 

Slipping his arm in mine, we passed through the 
Arcade and proceeded at once to our dining-place, where 
I had caused his favourite corner to be kept for him. 
Having settled down to our dinner, I was naturally 
anxious to hear from his own lips what Her Majesty 
and the Chief could have found to talk about for an 
hour and a half. 

** Tell me everything," I said, modestly. 

" Everything ! my dear fellow, everything ! I tell 
you what, it would be difBcult to say what we did not 
talk about," was his reply. 

" Well, then," I said, " let me have some of it, unless 
they were all State secrets." 

He then went on to tell me that Her Majesty had 
received him most graciously, and that, as Court eti- 
quette requires that no one, in an ordinary interview 



456 CHARLES DICKENS. 

with the Sovereign, should be seated, Her Majesty had 
remained the whole time leaning over the head of a 
sofa. There was a little shyness on both sides at 
the commencement, but this wore away as the conver- 
sation proceeded. 

Her Majesty expressed her deep regret at not having 
heard one of the Readings, and although highly flattered 
at this, Dickens could only express his sorrow that, as 
these were now finally done with, and as, moreover, 
a mixed audience was absolutely necessary for their 
success, it would be impossible to gratify Her Majesty's 
wishes in this particular. This, he said, the Queen fully 
appreciated, quoting to Mr. Dickens his own words in his 
farewell speech : ** From these garish lights I vanish 
now for evermore," and remarking that even if such a 
thing were possible, there would be inconsistency in it, 
which was evidently not one of Mr. Dickens's charac- 
teristics. After referring in complimentary terms to 
the pleasure Her Majesty had derived in witnessing Mr. 
Dickens's acting in the ** Frozen Deep," as far back as 
the year 1857, the conversation took a general turn. 
The Queen showed much interest and curiosity in 
regard to Mr. Dickens's recent American experiences, 
and some reference was made to a supposed discourtesy 
that had been shown in America on one occasion to 
Prince Arthur, This, Dickens was very anxious to 
explain away, assuring the Queen that no true-hearted 
Americans were in sympathy with the Fenian body in 



THE QUEEN'S GIFT. 457 

that country ; and that nowhere in the world was there a 
warmer feeling towards the English Queen than existed 
throughout the whole of the United States (a sentiment 
which Her Majesty was pleased to hear from so ob- 
servant an authority). The Chief told me, with a good 
deal of unction, that Her Majesty had then graciously 
asked his opinion on the ** servant question." Could 
he account for the fact *' that we have no good servants 
in England as in the olden times"? Mr. Dickens 
regretted that he could not account for this fact, except 
perhaps on the hypothesis that our system of education 
was a wrong one. On this same subject of national 
education, he added, he had his own ideas, but saw no 
likelihood of their being carried into effect. The price 
of provisions, the cost of butchers' meat, and bread, 
were next lightly touched upon, and so the conversation 
rippled on agreeably to an agreeable end. But the 
interview did not close until the Queen, with gracious 
modesty, had begged Mr. Dickens's acceptance at her 
own hands of a copy of the " Journal in the Highlands," 
in which Her Majesty had placed an autograph inscrip- 
tion, and her own sign manual. This was the book 
which the coachman had been so particularly enjoined 
to give into Miss Dickens's own hands. 

The Queen, on handing the book to Mr. Dickens, 
modestly remarked that she felt considerable hesitation 
in presenting so humble a literary effort to one of the 
foremost writers of the age. She had. Her Majesty 



458 CHARLES DICKENS. 

said, requested Mr. Helps to present it for her ; but as 
he had suggested that the gift would be more highly 
prized by Mr. Dickens if he received it from Her 
Majesty's own hands, she had resolved herself on this 
bold act. After asking Mr. Dickens to look kindly on 
any literary faults of her book, Her Majesty expressed 
a desire to be the possessor of a complete set of Mr. 
Dickens's works, and added that, if possible, she would 
like to receive them that afternoon. 

Mr. Dickens, of course, was only too pleased to 
gratify the wishes of the Queen, but begged to be 
allowed to defer sending his books until he had had a 
set specially bound for Her Majesty's acceptance. This 
was done in due course, and the receipt of the books 
was acknowledged in the name of the Queen by Mr. 
Helps, in a letter written from Balmoral, dated and 
posted on the day of Mr. Dickens's death ! 

This was the only interview Dickens had with the 
Queen, but her kindness on the occasion impressed him 
greatly. 

Her Majesty's interest in Dickens did not end here, 
for a few days after the interview, he received an in- 
timation that it was the Queen's desire he should 
attend the next Levee, and that Miss Dickens should 
be presented at the Drawing Room immediately fol- 
lowing. Both of these commands, it need not be said, 
were obeyed, and as some of us were very curious to see 
what figure he would cut in a costume to which he was 



THAT COCKED HAT. 4S9 

quite unaccustomed, myself, and one or two others 
dropped in upon him at his luncheon time, *' just to see 
how he looked in his cocked hat and sword." 

We got a good deal of fun out of the " make-up," in 
which Dickens heartily joined, but the climax was his 
utter bewilderment on the subject of the cocked hat. 
Fancy Dickens in a cocked hat ! 

" What on earth am I to do with it ? " he asked, 
handing it about in a woe-begone manner. 

" Why wear it of course," suggested one of the 
party. 

" But how ? " cried the Chief. 

** Yes, that's exactly what I have been wondering," 
said another. 

" What do you mean, sir ? ** said Dickens, with 
mock indignation. " What difference can it make to 
you which way I wear it ? " 

"Oh ! none at all. I was merely wondering whether 
you intended to wear it * fore and aft,' or * th'wart 
ships ;' and I thought I would mention that those I had 
seen were generally worn * fore and aft.' " 

Mr. Dickens's reception of this lesson on the wearing 
of a cocked hat was comic in the extreme ; for some 
had said, " it was not intended to be worn, and was a 
mere appendage any way," others were of opinion that 
** it was to be carried under the arm," and so on. 
However, as it was time to start, Dickens tucked the 
thing under his arm, and, turning to me, said, ** Come 



46o CHARLES DICKENS. 

along, Dolby, drive down to Buckingham Palace with 
me, and leave me in good society, where at least I shall 
be free of these ignorant people !" 

Court favour did not terminate with his attendance 
at the Levee, or his daughter's presentation at the 
Drawing Room, for the Prince of Wales, at about this 
time, had expressed a wish to meet Mr. Dickens ; and 
as His Royal Highness, accompanied by His Majesty 
the King of the Belgians, had just then accepted an 
invitation to dine with Lord Houghton, Dickens, at the 
special desire of the Prince, was invited to join the party. 

This was only a fortnight before his death. On the 
day of the dinner, Dickens was again suffering from 
his foot, and up to the last moment it was a matter of 
doubt whether he would be able to go. But his native 
pluck came to his aid, and, though in downright bodily 
agony, he went to the house of his host. He was, 
however, unable to go upstairs to meet the company 
in the drawing-room, and proceeded straight to the 
dining-room, into which he had to be assisted. 

In the course of the evening he was relieved of his 
pain to a great extent, and the charm of his conver- 
sation, I was afterwards told, contributed in no small 
measure to the success of a very pleasant evening. 
The Prince got a very agreeable impression of Dickens, 
and Dickens liked the Prince, who expressed at parting 
a hearty wish for his speedy and complete recovery. 

Towards the close of his tenancy of the house in 



A BRIGHT CONCERT. 461 

Hyde Park Place, he gave a delightful series of enter- 
tainments, the brightest of which was, I think, a 
concert at which Charles Hall^, Joachim, Edith Wynne, 
Santley, Cummings, and the Vocal Glee Union lent 
him their services. 

The drawing-rooms were crowded by a company 
which comprised all the most prominent people in 
town — literary, artistic, and fashionable. Dickens was 
suffering very much that evening, and looked jaded and 
worn, but his exertions for the entertainment of his 
guests never flagged. He was in good spirits, and 
moved about amongst his guests, and took ladies up 
and down to the supper-room, as if he had never known 
anguish of body in his life. 

The supper was sumptuous, there was profusion 
without ostentation. It is pleasant amongst the many 
pleasant recollections I have of Mr. Dickens to look 
back to that evening, when, in spite of pain, he appeared 
at his very best ; but with this memory is joined the 
sad one, that within two months of that brilliant 
occasion, he lay dead in his chamber. 

At this time it would really seem, in looking back, 
that all things pointed to the great end. 

He had made his last public speech but one at the 
annual dinner of the " Newsvendors Benevolent and 
Provident Institution," which was one of his happiest. 
Delivering it with mock gravity, he told an admirable 
story, which will bear repeating here. 



^62 CHARLES DICKENS. 

" I was once present,'* he said, " at a social discus- 
sion, which originated by chance. The subject was 
* What was the most-absorbing and longest-lived 
passion in the human breast ? What was the passion 
so powerful that it would almost induce the generous 
to be mean, the careless to be cautious, the guileless 
to be deeply designing, and the dove to emulate the 
serpent ? ' 

*' A daily editor of vast experience and great acute- 
ness who was one of the company considerably 
surprised us by saying, with the greatest confidence, 
that the passion in question was the passion of getting 
orders for the play ! 

" There had recently been a terrible shipwreck, and 
very few of the surviving sailors had escaped in an 
open boat. One of these, on making land, came straight 
to London, and straight to the newspaper office with 
the story of how he had seen the ship go down before 
his eyes. That young man had witnessed the most 
terrible contention between the powers of fire and 
water for the destruction of that ship and of every one 
on board. He had rowed away among the floating, 
dying, sinking, and dead. He had floated by day, and 
he had frozen by night, with no shelter and no food, 
and as he told the dismal tale he rolled his haggard 
eyes about the room. When he had finished, and the 
tale had been noted down from his lips, he was 
cheered, and refreshed, and soothed, and asked if 



GAD'S HILL ONCE MORE. 463 

anything could be done for him. Even within him, 
that master passion was so strong that he immediately 
replied he should like an order for the play ! " 

The last time Mr. Dickens spoke in public, was at 
the Royal Academy Dinner on May 2, 1870, when, 
after responding to the toast of literature, he said a 
few very earnest and tender words in reference to the 
loss that he and the art world in general had sus- 
tained in the death of Maclise, the painter, who for 
years had been one of his personal and dear friends. 

These were the last words he ever addressed to an 
audience, and though suffering intensely at the time, 
he attended this dinner solely that he might render 
a final public tribute to the memory of an old friend. 

He was engaged to be present and to speak at the 
dinner of the General Theatrical Fund, at which the 
Prince of Wales was to preside, but a succession of 
private dinners (the invitations to which had been 
accepted with much reluctance), had so laid him by 
the heels, that the time came when he could attend 
no more, and this one, although for a charity in which 
he took so deep an interest, had to be given up. At 
the end of May, he returned to Gad's Hill, in the hope 
of getting there that rest and peace of mind which he 
could not obtain in London. Here also he set himself 
vigorously to work to complete the ** Mysteries of 
Edwin Drood." But the mystery of Edwin Drood was 
not destined for completion. 




CHAPTER XV. 

THE END. 

;E last time I saw Charles Dickens, was 
on Thursday, June 2, 1870, when I made 
one of my weekly visits to the office. 
Getting there just in time for luncheon, 
I found him greatly absorbed in business matters, and 
although the same old greeting was awaiting me, it 
was painfully evident that he was suffering greatly 
both in mind and body. 

During luncheon, many plans for the future were 
talked of between us, amongst others an early visit 
to Gad's Hill, where we were to make a thorough 
inspection of the new conservatory, and several other 
improvements, in which both of us were greatly 
interested. But he was very busy that afternoon, and 
I rose to leave earlier than usual. Then came our 
final parting, though we neither of us thought of it 
as such. We shook hands across the office-table, and 



THE END. 465 

after a hearty grasp of the hand, and the words from 
him,' "next week then," I turned to go, though with 
a troubled sense that I was leaving my chief in great 
pain. He rose from the table, and followed me to 
the door ; I noticed the difficulty of his walk, and 
the pained look on his face, but was unwilling to speak, 
so without another word on either side, we parted. 

An affair of business took me from London immedi- 
ately afterwards, and I was prevented from calling at 
the office on the following Thursday, at the usual time. 
As it was understood between us that whenever I did 
not do this, a future meeting should be arranged by 
post, I meant to write him a letter on the following 
day. But that letter was never written, for I read in 
the newspapers the next morning that my friend and 
chief was dead. 

I went to Gad*s Hill at once, where I was most 
kindly and gently received by Miss Dickens and Miss 
Hogarth, who told me the story of his last moments. 
The body lay in the dining-room, where Mr. Dickens 
had been seized with the fatal apoplectic fit. They 
asked me if I would go and see it, but I could 
not bear to do so. I wanted to think of him as I 
had seen him last. I went away from the house, 
and out on to the Rochester road. It was a bright 
morning in June, one of the days he had loved; on 
such a day we had trodden that road together many 
and many a time. But never again, we two, along 



466 CHARLES DICKENS. 

that white and dusty way, with the flowering hedges 
over against us, and the sweet bare sky and the sun 
above us. We had taken our last walk together. 



THE END 



INDEX 



Abandoned Readings, 200, 219, 220, 250, 382, 408, 413 
Aberdeen, Readings in, 4, 31, 36 

„ Reputation in, 36 

Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, 17, 328, 348, 408 
Adelphi Theatre, London, 213, 270, 336 
Agassiz, Professor, 108, 144, 161, 202, 272 
Albany, Readings at, in Tweddle Hall, 290 
Albion Hotel, Covent Garden, 434 
Aldrich, Thos. B., the " Bad Boy," 108 
''All the Year Round," 31, 44, 65, 78, 79, 82, 129, 142, 196, 336, 417, 

418, 436, 453 
Alleyn Hall, Hartford, Readings in, 256 
Alleyn House Hotel, Hartford, 256 
Allison, George (gasman), 194, 296 
American Dishes, 107 
" American Notes," 93, 124 
American Tour, Preliminaries for, 93 et seq. 
„ „ Profits of first course, 213 

„ Total receipts, 331 
Americans, Visits of, to Gad's Hill, 56, 338, 419, 420, 421 
Arrest, Attempted, 326 

„ Threat of, 309 
" Artful Sandwich," Description of, 34 
Aspinall, Clarke, 398 



16 



467 



468 INDEX. 

" Atlantic Monthly, The," 129 
Australia, Desire to visit, 416 
Autograph Collectors, 170, 181 



Ballantyne (the Scottish bard), 354 
Baltimore, Barnum's Hotel, 225 

„ Gu5^'s Hotel, 225 

„ Readings in Concordia Hall, 219, 246 

" Barbox Bros, and Co.," 31, 52, 53, 63, 64, 66 
Barker, Dr. Fordyce, 294, 309, 319, 421 
Barnum, Phineas T., 125 
Barnum's Hotel, Baltimore, 225 
Bateman, "Colonel," 125 
Bath, Readings at, 379 

Beard, Frank Carr, 381, 404 et seq., 412, 413, 443 
Beecher, Rev. Henry Ward, 209, 214, 215 
Beggars, Dickens's kindness to, 54 
Belfast, Readings in, 364, 366 
Belgian Volunteers, The, 89 et seq. 
Bennett, James Gordon, 123, 124, 143 
Bigelow, Mr. and Mrs. John, 191, 275 
Birmingham, Town Hall, averted accident at, 67 

„ Readings in, 4, 32, 66 
" Black Crook, The," 126, 196 
Blackburn, Reading in, 405 
Blackwood, John, 354 
Blair, General, 238 
Blind Asylum, Boston, Gift to, 299 
Blue Bell Inn, 339 ■ 

Blue Posts, The, Cork Street, 52, 418, 434, 454 
" Bob Sawyer's Party," 10, 177, 391 
Bogus Tickets, 163 
Booth, Edwin, 310 
Booth, William, 310, 321, 326 
" Boots at the Holly Tree Inn," 41, 370, 393, 401 
Boston, Arrival at, 155 

„ Christmas in, 198 



INDEX. 469 

Boston, Departure from, 202 

,, Farewell speech at, 301 

„ Globe Theatre, 142 

„ Parker House Hotel, 150, 155, 201, 258, 303 

„ Readings at, 145, 171, 199, 200, 201, 260, 297, 300, 319 

„ Selwyn's Theatre, 142 

„ Tremont Temple, no, 171, 173 
Boucicault, Dion, 63 
*' Boy at Mugby," 31, 53, 63, 66, 438, 439 
Bradford, Visit to, 72 
Bridge of Allan, Trip to, 68 
Brighton, Readings at, 352 
Broadway (N.Y,), Description of, 119 
Brooklyn, Readings at, 214 
Broughton, John, 126, 232 
Browning, Robert, 8 
Bryant, William Cullen, 123, 191 
Buchanan, McKean, tragedian, 258 
Buffalo, Bluff at, 282 

Readings at, 283 
Bull Hotel, Preston, 406, 407, 409 

C 

Canterbm-y, Trip to, 423 

Carol Hall, Washington, Readings in, 215, 232, 240 

Chairman, Dickens as a, 274 

Chappell, Arthur, 8, 383, 384 

Chappeli, Messrs., i, 2, 3, 5, 10, 27, 41, 43, 86, 333, 334, 337, 343, 

344» 345> 351, 356, 360, 370, 381, 387, 392, 401, 403, 412, 413, 

416, 442, 443, 446, 451 
Chatham, Dickens's health at, 38 

„ Dockyard, 62 

„ Trip to, 428 
Cheltenham, Readings at, 370 
Cheney, Arthur, 142 
Cheshire Cheese, The, 434 
" Chief," The Manager entertains the, 374 et seq. 
„ The, Origin of, 65 



470 INDEX. 

Children, Dickens's fondness for, 55 

Childs, George William, 213, 219, 325, 327, 419, 420 

" Christmas Carol, The," 26, 87, 171, 174, 201, 214, 234, 291, 300 

319. 356, 387. 401. 446, 447, 454 
Circus, Dickens's liking for, 21 
City Hall, Worcester, Mass., Reading in, 258 
Clifton, Readings at, 4, 32, 378 
Clunn's Hotel, Covent Garden, 434 
Cobham, Park and Village, 132 

„ Leather Bottle, The, 50, 132 
Cock, The, Fleet Street, 434 
Cockburn, Sir Alexander, 28, 448 
Collins, Wilkie, 8, 213, 272, 273, 274 
Concordia Hall, Baltimore, Readings at, 219 
Continental Hotel, Philadelphia, 206, 212 
Cooper Institute, New York, 126 
Cricket at Gad's Hill, 62 
Cricket, Dickens a lover of, 62 
Cuba, Departure on the, 140 
Cummings, W. H., 461 
Curtis, George William, 312 

D 

Darnley, Lord, 50 

" David Copperfield," 19, 26, 31, 41, 177, 214, 320, 387 

Delmonico's, 256, 303, 311 

Deluge, Typical American, 287 

Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, 341 

" Dickens, Charles," Forster's Life of, iv 

" Dickens, Charles, In and Out of Doors with," by James T. 

Fields, iv 
Dickens, Charles, junr., 218, 418 
Dickens, Edward Bulwer Lytton, 341 
Dickens, Frederick, 346 
Dickens, Mary, 51, 131, 33O5 455, 45^, 4^5 
Dickens, Sidney Smith, 379 
Dinner in Dickens's honour, 74 
Dixon, Hepworth, 397, 399 



INDEX. 471 

" Doctor Marigold," 8, 10, 15, 23, 28, 31, 32, 41, 53, 80, 377, 390 

Dogs, The, at Gad's Hill, 54 

Dolliver, Captain, 150, 198 

Du Chaillu, Paul, 325, 327 

Dublin in state of siege, 75 

Dublin, Night inspection of, 75 

„ Readings at, 76, 364 

„ Shelborne Hotel, 366 
Dufferin, Lord, 397, 398, 399 

E 

Eddystone Lighthouse, Painting of, 48 
Edinburgh, Readings at, 4, 6, 24, 27, 37, 71 

„ Music Hall, Final reading in, 353 

" Edwin Drood," 434 et seq., 449, 452, 463 
Eg>'ptian Hall, Piccadilly, 58 
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 144, 161 
Esquiros, Alphonso, 397, 399 
Etynge, Sol, 420, 422, 434 
*' Evening Post" (New York), 123 

F 

Falstaff Inn, Gad's Hill, 53, 62 

Farewell Speech in America, 319 

Fechter, Charles, 8, 63, 213, 430, 434 

Fields, James T., iv, 18, 83,84, 87, 104, 105, 106, io8, iii, 113, 
144, 150, 155, 161, 169, 174, 177, 191, 201, 202, 213, 220, 237, 
25S, 259, 275, 277, 294, 295, 296, 303, 319, 327, 419, 420, 424, 

434> 439, 440 
Fields, Mrs., 191, 198, 201, 202, 269, 270, 294, 303, 419, 420, 439 
Fields, Osgood & Co., 420 
Fire, Alarms of, 192, 365 
First Tour, Close of, 41 
„ „ Terms of, 2 
Flying Scotchman, The, 33 
Forrest-Macready riot, 137 

Forster, John, iv, 8, 85, 132, 133, 136, 137, 138, 338 
Fraser, Peter, 354 



472 INDEX. 

Free Trade Hall, Manchester, Readings in, i6, 87 
" Frozen Deep," Dickens's acting in, 456 
Fundy, Bay of, 152 



Gad's Hill Place, 43, 45 et seq., 62, 131, 329, 337, 338, 345, 357, 

414, 419, 420, 421, 429, 440, 441, 463, 465 
Garland, Captain, of Boston Police, 165 
Generosity of Dickens, 32, 299, 341 
Gennessee Falls, 279 

"George Silverman's Explanation," 78, 79, 119, 128 
Gibson, Milner, Mr. and Mrs., 440 
Glasgow, Readings at, 4, 22, 23, 26, 37, 68 
Globe Theatre, Boston, 142 
Glynn, Miss (Mrs. Dallas), 432 
" Graphic, The," 46 
Grau, Mr., Impressario, 88, 124 
" Great Expectations," 423 

Greeley, Horace, 122, 168, 215, 216, 217, 303, 311, 319 
Gregoire, Colonel, 90 

Gurney, Ben (New York photographer), 172 
Guy's Hotel, Baltimore, 225 

H 

Halifax, Description of, 97 

„ Dickens's arrival at, 150 
Halle, Sir Charles, 461 
Halliday, Andrew, 399 

Hamblin, The, U.S. Customs steamer, 150, 171 
Harrison, Lafayette, 126 
Harte, Bret, 144 
Hartford, Alley n Hall, Readings in, 256 

„ Alleyn House Hotel, 256 
Hartford, Readings in Alleyn Hall, 256 
Hayes, Catherine, Anecdote of her mother, 12 
Hayes, Dr., Arctic explorer, 144, 179 
Headland, Mr., former tours manager, 451 
Helps, Sir Arthur, 453, 454, 458 



INDEX. 47: 



Higham Cricket Club, 62 

Kingston, E. P., 432 

Hogarth, George, Dickens's father-in-law, 13 

Hogarth, Georgina, 51, 54, 131, 330, 465 

Hoghton Tower, 78 

" Holiday Romance," 107 

Holland, Stephen, 341 

Holmes, Dr. Oliver Wendell, 108, 144, 161, 202, 272 

Hornpipe, Dickens dances the, 34 

Hotel Thieves, 116, 126 

Houghton, Lord, 397, 399, 460 

Hudson River, The, 118 

Hull, Readings at, 391 

Hurlburt, William H., 312 

I 
"Ike Marvel," 108, 252 
Illness at Boston, 296 
Illness at Preston, 407 et seq. 
" In and Out of Doors with Charles Dickens," iv 
Income Tax (American), 305 
International Copyright Act, 271 
Ireland, Visit to, 73 
Irving, Sir Henr}^, 126 
Irving Hall, New York, 126 

J 

Jarrett, Impressario, 196 

Jeffrey, Lord, 354 

Jerrold Fund, The, 87 

Joachim, Herr Joseph, 461 

Johnson, President Andrew, 215, 236, 243, 259 

" Journal in the Highlands," 457 



Kennedy, Mr. Commissioner, 323, 324, 326 

Kent, Charles, 8, 338 

Kindness of heart, Dickens's, 55, 186, 288, 292, 298 



474 INDEX. 



Lake, Colonel, 364 

Laiidport Terrace, Portsmouth, 37, 38 

Leather Bottle, The, 50, 132 

Leech, John, 58 

Leeds, Readings at, 64, 402 

Lemon, Mark, 397 

" Life of Dickens," Forster's, iv 

Lind, Jennj', 123 

Liverpool, Adelphi Hotel, 17, 328, 348, 408 

„ Public Banquet at, 396 

„ Readings in St. George's Hall, 4, 10, 13-15, 16, 19-21, 

31, 64, 67, 348 

„ Readings in Theatre Ro\^al, 396 

London, Albion Hotel, 434 

„ Adelphi Theatre, 213, 270, 336 

„ Blue Posts, The, 52, 418, 434, 454 

„ Cheshire Cheese, The, 434 

„ Clunn's Hotel, 434 

„ Cock Inn, The, 434 

„ Egyptian Hall, 58 

„ Lyceum Theatre, 63, 125 

„ Readings in St. James's Hall, 4, 7, 10, 23, 41, 63, 67, 87, 

337> 345» 348, 349. 35^, 35^, 361, 44i> 445 

„ Slums, Excursions in, 419 

„ Southvvick Place, Hyde Park, 8 

„ Tavistock House, 47, 48 

„ Westminster Club, 341 
" Long Strike, The," 63 

Longfellow, H. W., iii et seq., 144, 161, 202, 272, 296, 338 
Love of children, Dickens's, 55 
Lowell, James Russell, 108, 144, 272 
Lowell, Miss Mabel, 420 
Lyceum Theatre, London, 63, 125 
Lyon and Hall, of Brighton, 352 



INDEX. 475 

M 

Macready, W. C, 137, 285 

„ and '* Murder" reading, 363, 370 ei seq. 
Manchester, Queen's Hotel, The, 391 

Readings in Free Trade Hall, 4, 10, 16, 17, 19-21, 31, 
67, 68, 172, 348, 390 
^' Martin Chuzzlewit," 93, 124 
Marjdand Prison, Visit to, 221 
Mason, Mr. (Manager North British Railway), 356 
Massasoit House, Springfield, 291 
Midland Institute, President of the, 436 ei seq. 

Prize-giving at, 443 
Miliar, Captain, of the Somerset, 341 
Mills, Mr., joint proprietor of Parker House Hotel, 156 
Milner-Gibson, Mr. and Mrs., 440 
Mitchell, Donald, 108, 144, 252 
Moodie, Captain, of the J^ava, 152, 153, 154 
Morgan, W. D., 323 
" Mrs. Gamp," 393 
" Mugby Junction," 31 
'' Murder" reading and Macready, 363 

„ Conception of, 337 

„ Danger of, 361, 380, 385 

„ London press on, 352, 362 

„ Rehearsal of, 349 

„ Scotch interest in, 383 

„ Success of, 352, 390 
Murray, General, 428 

N 

New Bedford, Readings at, 293 

New Haven, Reading at, 293 
„ Riot at, 247, 249 

New York, Cooper Institute, 126 
„ „ Delmonico's, 256, 303, 311 
„ ,, Description of, 117 etseq., 183, 204, 327 
,, „ Niblo's Theatre and Garden, 126, 196, 198, 430 



476 INDEX. 

New York, Readings in Steinway Hall, 126, 162, 167, 182, 184, 199, 

200, 205, 304, 306, 319 
New York, Westminster Hotel, 181, 183, 215, 247, 255, 304, 311, 

322 
" New York Herald," 123, 124, 133, 168 
" New York Times," 125, 168 
" New York Tribune," 122, 123, 142, 168 
" New York World," 168 
Newcastle-on-Tyne, Visit to, 72 
Newsvendors' Dinner, 461 
Niagara Falls, Spencer House Hotel, 283 

„ Trip to, 283 
Niblo's Theatre and Garden, 126, 196, 198, 430 
"Nicholas Nickleby," 41, 387 
"No Thoroughfare," 213, 270, 336 
Norton, Charles Eliot, 312, 338 

O 

" Old Curiosity Shop," 299, 349 

" Oliver Twist," 337, 370, 393, 399 

Osgood, James R., 106, 107, iii, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 122, 124, 
130, 142, 144, 151, 152, 164, 165, 199, 201, 206, 213, 214, 220, 
221, 228, 230, 231, 241, 255, 260, 261, 269, 277, 293, 319, 332 

Ouvry, Frederic, Dickens's solicitor, 132, 133, 421 



Palmer, Harry D., 126, 128, 165, 181, 183, 196, 309, 310, 430, 431 

Paris, Vaudeville Theatre, 337 

Parker House Hotel, Boston, 150, 155, 201, 258, 303 

Parker, Mr., Joint proprietor of Parker House Hotel, 156 

Pembroke Lodge, Amusing incident at, 433 

»* Pencillings from Punch," 58 

Philadelphia, Continental Hotel, 206, 212 

„ Readings at, 199, 212 

" Philadelphia Ledger, The," 213 
Philp, FrankHn, 127, 216, 227, 228, 453 
" Pickwick Papers," 420, 422 



INDEX. 

Picton, James Allanson, 399 

Pilot, Shipping the, loi 

Platform, Description of Reading-, 13 

Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, Reading in, 209, 214 

Portland (U.S.A.), Readings at, 293 

Portsmouth, Landport Terrace, 37, 38 

„ Readings at, 4, 37 

Press Dinner, Farewell, in New York, 311 et seq. 
Preston, Bull Hotel, 406, 407, 409 

„ The final reading abandoned, 408 
Prince of Wales, At dinner with, 460 
Printer's Error, An amusing, 255 
Prison Life, Dickens's interest in, 39 
Profits of American tour, 331 
Providence, Readings at, 257 

„ Reception at, 257 

Pulse, Action of readings on, 444 
Punch, Dickens's ability to brew, 18 
" Punch, Pencillings from," 58 

Q 

Queen Victoria, Interview with, 453 
Queen's Hotel, Manchester, 391 



Ratciiffe Highway, Visit to, 419 
Rathbone, Philip H., 398 
Raymond, Henry John, 312 
Reading Town Clerk's ignorance, 79 
,, Town Hall, Reading in, 80 
Readings, Abandoned, 200, 219, 220, 250, 382, 408, 413 
Arrangements for, 3, 337 
„ Commencement of, 5 

The first, 7 
„ Rehearsals of, 8, 349 

Profits of, 331, 451 
Readings at Aberdeen, 4, 31, 36 

Albany (Tweddle Hall), 290 



477 



478 INDEX. 

Readings at Bath, 379 

„ Baltimore (Concordia Hall), 219, 246 

„ Belfast, 364, 366 

„ Birmingham (Town Hall), 4, 32, 66 

„ Boston, 145, 171, 199, 200, 201, 260, 297, 300, 319 

„ Brighton, 352 

„ Brooklyn (Plymouth Church), 209, 214 

Buffalo, 283 
„ Cheltenham, 370 

Clifton, 4, 32, 378 
„ DubHn (Rotunda), 76, 364 

Edinburgh, 4, 6, 24, 27, 37, 71 
„ „ Music Hall, 353 

Glasgow, 4, 22, 23, 26, 37, 68 
„ Hull, 391 

„ Leeds, 64, 402 

„ Liverpool (St. George's Hall), 4, 10, 13-15, 16, 19-21, 

31, 64, 67, 348 
„ „ Theatre Royal, 396 

„ London {Si. James's Hall), 4, 7, 10, 23, 41, 63, 67, 87, 

337> 345. 348, 349> 352, 35^, 361, 441, 445 
„ Manchester (Free Trade Hall), 4, 10, 16, 17, 19-21, 

31, 67, 68, 172, 348, 390 
„ New Bedford, 293 

„ New Haven, 293 

„ New York (Steinway Hall), 126, 162, 167, 182, 184, 

199, 200, 205, 304, 306, 319 
„ Philadelphia, 199, 212 

„ Portland, 293 

„ Portsmouth, 4, 37 

„ Providence, 257 

„ Reading (Town Hall), 80 

„ Rochester, 279 

„ Springfield, 293 

„ Syracuse, 278 

Torquay, 377 
„ Washington (Carol Hall), 232, 240 

„ Wolverhampton, 390 



INDEX. 479 

Readings at Worcester, Mass. (City Hall), 258 

York, 391 
Reeves, Sims, Reputation in Aberdeen, 36 
Refreshment Rooms, Railway, 29-31 
Rehearsals of readings, 8, 349 
Return from America, 328 
Riot, Ticket, at New Haven, 247 
Ristori, Madame, 88 
Roberts, George, Impressario, 181 
Rochester, Blue Bell Hill, 339 

Castle, 50 

Falstaff Inn, 53, 62 
„ (U.S.A), Reading at, 279 

Rotunda, Dublin, Reading in, 76, 364 
Royal Academy Dinner, 463 
Russel, Mr. (Editor of " The Scotsman "), 354 
Russell, Earl, 432 
Russell, Judge, 150, 170 
Russia, Dickens's return by The, 322 

S 
Sailor's hornpipe, Dickens dances a, 34 
St. George's Hall, Liverpool, Readings in, 4, 10, 13-15, 16, 19-21, 

31,64,67,348 
St. James's Hall, London, Readings in, 4, 7, 10, 28, 41, 63, 67, 87, 

337, 345> 348, 349, 352, 356, 361, 441, 445 
St. James's Hotel, Piccadilly, 419 
St. Patrick's Day, Dinner in Dickens's honour on, 74 
Sainton, Madame, 292 
Sala, George Augustus, 397, 399 
Santley, Charles, 461 
Scott (Dickens's valet), 174, 194, 394 
Second American Tour considered, 133 

„ Estimated profit, 135, 137 
„ „ „ Forster's opposition to the, 136-39 

„ ,, }) settled, 140 

„ Tour, Terms of, 43 
Selwyn's Theatre, Boston, 142 



48o INDEX. 

Shelborne Hotel, Dublin, 366 

Siege, Dublin in state of, 75 

" Silent Stone," 140, 152, 154, 157 

Smith, Arthur, former manager, i, 5, 24, 417, 45c, 451 

Southsea, Dickens's health at, 38 
„ Pantomime joke at, 40 

Southwick Place, Hyde Park, Rehearsal at, 8 

Speech at Boston, Farewell, 301 

„ Farewell Press Banquet, New York, 312 ^/ seq. 

„ Farewell, at New York, 319 

„ Last, in London, 448 

„ Last public (Royal Academy), 463 

„ Newsvendors' Benevolent Institution, 461 

Speech-making, Art of, 273 

Spencer House Hotel, Niagara Falls, 283 

Springfield, Reading at, 293 

Stanfield, Clarkson, Painting by, 48 

Staplehurst railway accident, 11 

Staunton, Mr. Secretary, 231, 232 

Stirling Castle, Visit to, 68 

Stirling Gaol, Visit to, 68 

Stone, Captain, of the Cuba, 140, 152, 154, 157 

"Story of Little Dombey" at Liverpool, 19, 20 

Summons served in New York, 185 

Sumner, Charles, 231, 239, 244 

Syme, Mr., Edinburgh surgeon, 384, 389 

Syracuse, Reading at, 278 

T 

Taylor, Bayard, 272 
Tavistock House, 47,48 
Tennent, Sir James Emerson, Death of, 391 
Thackeray's effects, Sale of, 454 
Thompson, Sir Henry, 381, 384 
Thornton, Sir Edward, 237 
Thoughtfulness of Dickens, 131, 339 
Tickets, Bogus, 163 

„ Disposing of, 166, 206, 210, 248 



INDEX. 481 

Tickets, Speculation in, 146-8 

Ticknor and Fields, 84, 105, 107, 113, 129, 130, 140, 142, 145, 149, 

160, 177, 190, 271, 308, 326, 332 
Ticknor, Howard, 106, 144, 150, 202 
Torquay, Reading at, 377 

Townsend, Mr., of Bull Hotel, Preston, 409, 410 
Tramps, Kindness to, 54 
Travelling, American, iii 
Tremont Temple, The, Boston, no, 171, 173 
" Trial from Pickwick," 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 41, 80, 171, 175, 291, 300, 

3i9»37o»377,40i>446,447 
Trollope, Anthony, 325, 397, 399 
Tweddle Hall, Albany, Reading in, 290 

U 

" Uncommercial Traveller, The," 336 



" Vacant Chair, The," 46 
Vaudeville Theatre, Paris, 337 
Vocal Glee Union, 461 

W 

Walking Match at Boston, 220, 261 
Washington (Carol Hall), Readings in, 232, 240 

„ Departure from, 245 

„ Restaurant, 228, 230, 243 

„ Unpleasant incident at, 233 

„ White House, 236 

„ Willard's Hotel, 126, 127 

Watson, Sir Thomas, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 443 
Webster, Benjamin, 430, 431 
Weed, Thurlow, 324 
Westminster Club, Dinner at, 341 

„ Hotel, New York, 181, 183, 215, 247, 255, 304, 311,322 

Whelcker's Restaurant, Washington, 228, 230, 243 



482 INDEX. 

White House, Received at, 236 

Whitty, M. J., 399 

Wild, Marshal (ticket clerk), 162 

Willard's Hotel, Washington, 126, 227 

Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Barney, 212 

Wills, W. H., 4, 9, 12, 13, 18, 19, 23, 25, 29, 30, 32, 34, 39, 47, 64, 73, 

85, 132, i33> 139. 273, 274, 292, 331, 336, 417 
Wolverhampton, Reading at, 390 
Worcester, Mass., Reading at City Hall, 258 
Wynne, Madame Edith, 461 



York, Reading at, 391 



UNWIN BROTHERS. LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON. 



